Newcastle have confirmed the departure of France defender Jean-Alain Boumsong to Italian giants Juventus.

The 26-year-old, who was signed last year from Rangers, is set to play in Serie B rather than the top flight of Italian football after Juventus' relegation in the aftermath of the match-fixing scandal.

The deal is initially worth around ?5m, which means the club have made a loss on the player bought by Graeme Souness from Rangers for around ?12m.

A statement to the Stock Exchange read: "The directors of Newcastle United plc wish to announce that the transfer of Jean-Alain Boumsong from Newcastle United to Juventus has been finalised this afternoon."