Nolberto Solano tonight completed his return to Newcastle less than an hour before the closure of the transfer window.
The 30-year-old Peruvian arrived back at St James' Park just 19 months after
making a £1.5million move to Aston Villa.
Teenager James Milner will spend the rest of the season on loan at Villa, but
Solano's return will come as a further boost to the Magpies at the end of a day
on which they unveiled record signing Michael Owen.
Solano, who has signed a two-year deal with the option of a further 12 months,
was delighted to begin a second spell at the club.
'It's great to be back at Newcastle and I hope we can have a really
successful season here,' he told the club's official website.
Chairman Freddy Shepherd added: 'It's great to have Nobby back and I am sure
all the fans are thrilled by the news.'
The fans who gathered earlier to welcome Owen to Tyneside chanted the South
American's name in the hope he would join, and they got their wish shortly
before the midnight deadline after he passed a medical.
The former Boca Juniors player was signed by Kenny Dalglish for £2.5million in
August 1998 and proved popular as he and Frenchman Laurent Robert set about the
task of providing the supply to Alan Shearer.
However, he fell out with Sir Bobby Robson over his trips to South America to
represent his country after at one point agreeing to put his international
career on hold, and he was eventually sold to Villa in January last year.
Robson's replacement Graeme Souness attempted to re-sign him in January, and
his persistence has now been rewarded.
Since his departure and that of Robert, Newcastle have been short of both
natural width and dead-ball specialists, and Solano will provide both.
His return will restore strength in depth to the Magpies midfield after
Jermaine Jenas's departure for Tottenham and take Souness' spending since his
arrival on Tyneside through the £50million barrier.
Milner, 19, emerged from the youth set-up under Villa boss David O'Leary at
Leeds.
But having moved to St James' last summer, he struggled to make an impact at
first-team level.
