American D Onyewu signed on loan to Newcastle

Jan 30, 2007 - 5:26 PM NEWCASTLE, England (Ticker) -- Oguchi Onyewu is bringing his physical presence to the English Premiership.

The United States national team defender and 2006 U.S. Soccer Federation Athlete of the Year has joined Newcastle for the rest of the season on a loan signing Tuesday.

In addition, the Magpies have negotiated an option to make the transfer from Onyewu's previous team - Belgium's Standard Liege - permanent in the summer.

"We have secured Oguchi Onyewu," Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder said. "He comes across as an impressive person - he is certainly physically impressive, which is something I feel we need.

"I watched him a few times and (assistant manager) Nigel Pearson watched him a few times when he was at West Brom last year. They were particularly keen to sign him, but Oguchi was looking to step higher if he could, and he feels coming here to Newcastle for the next 12 games or so that he can make a good enough impression to make it a permanent move. I certainly hope so."

Newcastle currently is tied for 11th in the Premiership with 30 points (8-10-6).

The 24-year-old Onyewu, who underwent a successful physical Monday before the deal was finalized, had been drawing interest from clubs across Europe after appearing in all three of Team USA's World Cup games this past summer.

Reportedly among those other clubs was Premiership heavyweight Chelsea.

Along with playing internationally with the U.S., Onyewu has established himself as a strong presence the past two-plus seasons with Standard Liege. Known for his strength and aerial ability, he helped his club to a second-place finish last year.

In 2005, Onyewu was voted the Jupiler League's Foreign Player of the Year.

A member of the American team that won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2005, Onyewu played two seasons at Clemson before signing with French club Metz in 2002. He was loaned to Belgians La Louviere in 2003 and Standard Liege a year later.