How Kyle Fitzgerald and Baran Yildiz fared as Newcastle United Under-18s win 4-1 vs Stoke City

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Newcastle United welcomed two new signings in the January transfer window.

Sporting director Paul Mitchell will be chomping at the bit ahead of the summer transfer window, ready to use his experience to bring new signings to Tyneside for Eddie Howe.

Newcastle United haven’t spent nearly as much as fans would’ve liked in recent windows after being held back by PSR which has proven to be a big problem for the club in the past year.

Fans have said goodbye to several players within Newcastle’s first-team squad since last summer, including academy graduate Elliot Anderson who is now thriving at Nottingham Forest.

However, there is renewed hope that Newcastle’s academy will produce some new gems. 18-year-old Lewis Miley is a prime example of Newcastle’s academy success. The midfielder has become a solid option for Howe this season and is in contention to play in the upcoming Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

Fans may not have to wait much longer, as Mitchell’s two new signings have hit the ground running in the academy, surely giving the Newcastle manager something to think about.

Baran Yildiz and Kyle Fitzgerald impress in Newcastle’s academy

18-year-old duo Baran Yildiz and Kyle Fitzgerald both joined Newcastle in the January transfer window, with the former joining from the Turkish second division and the latter joining from League of Ireland side Galway United, following in the footsteps of Alex Murphy who has previously played for Newcastle’s first-team.

Upon signing it was revealed that Fitzgerald rejected Brighton and Wolves for Newcastle having been persuaded by former Toon goalkeeper Steve Harper who now has a role within the Magpies’ academy setup.

Fitzgerald scored his first Newcastle goal for the under-18s earlier in March. On Saturday, he added to his tally with a brace in the young Magpies’ 4-1 win against Stoke City’s youth side.

Yildiz also made his debut late on in the win, replacing Kacey Wooster who scored Newcastle’s first of the afternoon. The Turkish midfielder made an instant impact on the game, bagging an assist for their fourth and final goal.

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Newcastle youngsters could be fast-tracked to the first-team

Howe is known to give young players a chance in the first-team. This was most evident during the 2023/24 campaign when Newcastle had a slew of injuries within their squad. Players like Ben Parkinson and Miley got good runouts in Premier League games, with the latter even playing in the Champions League at times.

This season things have been no different, 17-year-old Sean Neave has trained Newcastle’s first team along with defender Leo Shahar. Neave was named on the bench for Newcastle’s FA Cup win against Birmingham in February and scored in the under-21s win against Middlesbrough on Friday evening.

If he keeps up his current levels of form, there is a good chance Fitzgerald could be promoted to first-team training before the end of the season. At just 18, the Irishman is showing signs that he can forge a good career for himself.

Fitzgerald can play as a winger, not just a striker. This was evident in his first two games for the club against Manchester United and Liverpool’s under-18s.