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Lukas Hornicek makes Newcastle United number one stance clear as unseen Braga work hands him edge Hornicek penned a long-term deal at Newcastle United on Monday as he sealed his move from Braga Lukas Hornicek is 100 per cent focused on becoming Newcastle United's number one goalkeeper and hopes the improvements he made with the ball at his feet in Portugal will give him the edge over his competitors. Hornicek sealed his £25.7million move to Newcastle from Braga earlier this week and jetted straight out to the Magpies' La Manga training base to join his team-mates on their warm-weather training camp. He has quickly made an impression on his team-mates and he also made an impression on reporters who were invited in to the club's base in Spain for an insight into the early days of Matthias Jaissle's reign. Hornicek has been signed to compete for the number one position and is expected to take the role in the opening Premier League game of the season ahead of the likes of Ewen Jaouen and Nick Pope. Get Chronicle Premium now for just £1 HERE – exclusive news and features, our NUFC and Academy notebooks, plus an ad-lite experience And when asked if it is intention to be Newcastle's first choice goalkeeper, the 24-year-old's response was emphatic - even if he was grateful for the welcome he has received from Jaouen, Pope, Mark Gillespie and Aidan Harris in the club's goalkeeping unit. "100 per cent," Hornicek told reporters in La Manga. "I would like to establish myself as the number one goalkeeper. I know it's just a long way to go, because we have so many good goalkeepers. "They've been really good and working hard, and we are pushing each other to the limit, so we get to the best version of ourselves in the whole of the season. "Yeah, they've been really amazing. I wasn't expecting this, because I know there's a bigger rivalry, you know, who is the number one, and it was completely opposite, they've been trying to help me from the beginning. "As I said, they've even tried to help me put my device on my shoes, because I was not able to do that. So yeah, I can't complain, they've been really fantastic, and I'm really grateful that they've been this way." Hornicek had been Braga's number one goalkeeper for the last 18 months and helped the Portuguese side reach the semi-finals of the Europa League last season. He made the move to Portugal as a teenager from FK Pardubice and he feels leaving the Czech Republic so early will help make the adjustment to life in England a lot easier. "Yeah, I feel like it was a good step for me, because let's be honest, Czech Republic is not on such a high level as Portugal is," Hornicek added. "So for sure, I think in the future, it will help me in the transition, because let's be honest, football is faster, a bit more comparable to English football. So, yeah, that's it." He also credits Braga boss Carlos Vicens for helping improving his footwork and ability on the ball and his ability to play passes through the lines should make him a useful weapon for Jaissle and the way he sets up his teams. "Honestly, I think what helped me was when the new coach came in, Carlos Vicens," Hornicek explained. "He was actually demanding those passes, so we needed to change the training, the way we train, so we've been doing much more passes, much more possession of the ball. "So this helped me a lot, in the end, to be more comfortable on the ball, and in the end, it worked out, and honestly, it's one of the most things that helped me with my footwork." "We haven't spoken about this, to be honest, and I think we've been doing his team meetings for this season, the way he wants us to defend, to build out, and those kind of stuff, so the conversation is mostly to get it to the players, so we all know what we are standing on." When Chronicle Live delved into Hornicek's background, his former youth coach at Pardubice, Miroslav Stichauer, had revealed he split his time as a teenager playing as a striker, as well as a goalkeeper, and he feels that helped him discover a new joy for playing in goal. "I was always a goalkeeper, but sometimes when we'd be going to tournaments, like a futsal and so on, sometimes I had to be playing up front, because I was maybe a little bit bored," Hornicek concluded. "I really enjoy it, because it's different. It's always being in goal, it's nice taking the balls, but in the end, it's like everything, if you do it too much, you get bored, so I think I just need to freshen up, and to be, again, happy in the goal."