Charlie McArthur is officially summer signing number six for Newcastle United.
The Magpies have confirmed his arrival from Kilmarnock subject to international clearance. He arrives for an undisclosed fee and will link up with the Under-18s side to begin with.
McArthur is the latest youngster to join the club, following deals for Alex Murphy and Jordan Hackett. 17-year-old McArthur is the next to sign on the dotted line, almost a month after he was first linked.
It’s another important transfer for Newcastle, who are planning for the future as well as the present. That is what Dan Ashworth has been brought in to do. One of his roles is to improve the club’s youth setup in terms of recruitment and development.
Ashworth will be an important figure during McArthur’s Newcastle career, and the centre-back’s former manager Derek McInnes has commented the move.
Derek McInnes can see exactly why Newcastle are signing Charlie McArthur
Following the announcement, McInnes has spoke to Kilmarnock’s official website about the move.
“Unfortunately for us, a bigger club has come along and identified he’s a good player, which he is,” he said.
“The move was something that Charlie was keen on so once we established that with his agents, then it was all about us getting the fee that we wanted, which thankfully we did.
“We wish Charlie all the best. He’s a great kid and he’s someone we’ve really been impressed with in the short time that I’ve been here.
“You can see exactly why Newcastle would want to bring him into their system and we’ll look out for him and hope he does well there. He will always be welcome back at Rugby Park.”
One for the future at Newcastle
Hopefully McArthur develops into a first-team player Newcastle. That is the goal, otherwise we wouldn’t have bothered signing him.
The early signs are promising, as McArthur has already made his professional debut despite being only 17.
Newcastle will be a different environment for him, but he will hopefully be able to establish himself on Tyneside. He’s a leader for the Scotland youth sides, and those qualities will hopefully stand him in good stead in black and white.
McInnes speaks very highly of the youngster, and appreciates the project that he’s joining at St James’ Park.
McArthur likely won’t be the last youth arrival this summer, as Ashworth begins sewing the seeds for future success. But for now, McArthur is the latest recruit, and will be keen to get started in the North East.
Welcome to Newcastle, Charlie!
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