Newcastle United fans, rejoice. Lukáš Horníček has absolutely no problem with you calling him the Horny Czech. Well, sort of.
The goalkeeper joined the Magpies in a big money move from Braga this summer to become their new number one.
He’s made a positive start to life in England since and appears to be settling well to life at St James Park. Sport Witness have already covered comments from him today regarding how he thinks Newcastle’s fans are the best in the league.
A part of that includes how they treat him in the streets, even if that means they keep calling him ‘Hornyczech’.
He was asked if they shout his ‘pretty specific nickname’ at him when they see him in public.
“(Laughs) Do you mean Hornyczech?” he responded in an interview with Sport.cz.
“They don’t shout, but I like it. I take it as a satire. Fans with the boys from social media invented it already in Braga and it’s dragging on with me.
“I don’t take a nickname like that as something negative. It’s more of a sign of recognition. Thank God the boys call me by their full name and not in short “Horny” (translated into Czech means horny).
Life under Jaissle
The goalkeeper is perhaps more focused on adapting to life in the Premier League under Mathias Jaissle. That he’s working under the German came as a surprise in itself given Eddie Howe departed just before he arrived.
“You’re right, I didn’t count on it at all,” he added.
“I had a conversation with the sports director and goalkeeping coach. We talked about a lot of things, but there was no word on the change of head coach.
“It wasn’t until the day before I signed that the agent brought it to my attention. I immediately asked if it was changing anything for me, but nothing changed about the deal.”
Things have gone well under the new Newcastle manager, with the Magpies sitting on eight points after five games. Only the heavy defeat to Leeds is a low point. Horníček sees things differently, though.
“I don’t think we can be satisfied,” he said.
“We take eight points. We know some of the points have passed us in the final minutes. It is necessary to work on the stability of our performances so that we do not have to constantly catch up.
€30m no concerns
| Every Newcastle United signing 26/27 | Previous Club | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Matias Fernandez-Pardo | Lille | £51 million |
| Nico González | Manchester City | £47 million |
| Bazoumana Touré | TSG Hoffenheim | £42.8 million |
| Amar Dedić | Benfica | £30.7 million |
| Aladji Bamba | Monaco | £30 million |
| Lukáš Horníček | Braga | £25.7 million |
| Sean Steur | Ajax | £19.6 million |
| Ewen Jaouen | Stade Reims | £18.5 million |
He’s also not particularly concerned about the big fee that Newcastle have paid for him. The Magpies didn’t hesitate to drop €30m to get him from Braga this summer.
That sort of figure usually leads to pressure, particularly for a goalkeeper, but he doesn’t see it that way.
“(Laughs) On the one hand, it’s beautiful, but on the other hand, I don’t deal with it,” he insisted.
“Every player has some value, and it doesn’t automatically mean I’m better than someone else. It’s often about what league the player is leaving, and thank God I’ve been leaving Braga, which has a big name and could ask for such money.
“I think I have a good mentality in this. I don’t want to say I don’t care about everything, but I’m phlegmatic.
“I believe in my experience and football potential. I’m trying to shut my head off and let the body guide me. As soon as you think too much about things like that, something just goes wrong.”
🇨🇿 Lukáš Horníček | “Best fans in England” – Newcastle United ace on support, plus Bayern and Madrid interest https://t.co/KPrMOgK9MQ #nufc
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) September 23, 2026
