Newcastle fans woke up to the relatively surprising news that Rafa Benitez’s first signing at the club was going to be a goalkeeper – a department in which the Magpies already have Tim Krul, Rob Elliot, Karl Darlow and Freddie Woodman.

KAA Gent stopper Matz Sels has already completed his medical and a fee believed to be in the region of £4.5m has been agreed between both clubs.

His arrival will surely ignite a season-long loan move for young Freddie Woodman, and it could spell the end of Tim Krul’s memorable tenure on Tyneside.

In reality, not many Toon fans will know much about Sels and how he plays in between the sticks, so we decided to find out more about the 24-year-old from our friends at Sporting Anderlecht (@Sporting_AND) on Twitter.

1) What are his main strengths? As you may have seen he’s tall and strong. I think he has yet to reach his full potential. £4.5m looks like a bargain. He’s physically imposing and reliable (hard to beat on-on-one’s). He doesn’t make many mistakes. He is/was a key player at KAA Gent.

2) Does he have any weaknesses? It’s hard to name his weaknesses but there’s certainly room for improvement in his game.

3) Do you think he can force his way into our starting eleven? It’s looks like Krul is leaving so I think Sels is your new No.1 goalkeeper. You don’t pay £4.5m for a goalkeeper to have him on the bench all season. He will help you get back up – he’s reliable and doesn’t lack confidence. There’s no way he’ll be a sub.

4) What are your thoughts on the transfer? To be honest, I’m a bit surprised that he’ll join Newcastle. He had an excellent Champions League campaign and got named in the UCL Team of the Week after the Lyon game (1-2 win). A lot of clubs showed interest so it’s a actually a real coup. Newcastle fans should be really happy and they should thank Benitez.

5) Was he close to getting into Belgium’s EURO 2016 squad? Yes. I think he will be Belgum’s third goalkeeper after the tournament. Wilmots chose Jean-Francois Gillet instead because he wanted experience in the squad.

Sels has won the Goalkeeper of the Season award in Belgium on two occasions in the past few years, and judging by these comments, he could have a big role to play in Newcastle’s promotion push next season.