Newcastle United’s focus on youth recruitment looks to have paid off.
It may have been overlooked by fans in the January transfer window, but Paul Mitchell has worked hard to attract young players to Tyneside in favour of moves to other clubs in England.
Mitchell’s hard work to attract Europe’s best young players to Newcastle United shows no sign of stopping either, with summer moves already being finalised.
Antonio Cordero is close to signing for Newcastle from Malaga after holding positive talks with Mitchell. The 18-year-old winger’s family have also been on Tyneside ahead of the move. Cordero will be loaned out for his first season at Newcastle – a similar move the Magpies made when Yankuba Minteh signed in 2023.
With Mitchell eager to add more young faces to the club in the summer, a new January signing has gotten off the mark in his third appearance for the club.
Kyle Fitzgerald scores for Newcastle’s under-18s
Attacker Kyle Fitzgerald joined the Magpies in January from Galway United, following in the footsteps of Alex Murphy, who moved to Tyneside from the same club two years prior. Murphy is currently out on loan at Bolton Wanderers, helping them in their playoff push under Steven Schumacher.
It was revealed that Fitzgerald rejected Brighton and Wolves for Newcastle after being impressed with the project presented to him by former Toon shot-stopper Steve Harper.
Fitzgerald made his Newcastle debut for the under-18s against Manchester United’s youth side before making his second appearance for the Magpies against Liverpool’s under-18s, truly being thrown in at the deep end.
On Saturday, Fitzgerald sent a clear message to Newcastle boss Eddie Howe by scoring and bagging two assists in his first start for the youth side, a 4-2 win against Wolves under-18s.
Despite playing as a striker at Galway, Fitzgerald has been playing as a right-winger, clearly thriving in his new position. The Magpies are short on right-sided attackers at the moment, so Fitzgerald could theoretically be handed a surprise call-up to the first team if he continues to impress.
Kyle Fitzgerald’s signing shows Paul Mitchell’s experience
Early signs suggest that Newcastle have played a blinder with Fitzgerald’s signing and he certainly has the potential to make a decent career for himself if he carries on the way he’s going.
Toon fans can expect more players like Fitzgerald to join the club in future – Newcastle will recruit more from Ireland given how much the league is growing.
Mitchell’s years of experience were on show with the Fitzgerald signing. Not many sporting directors could find a young player with as much quality he has, but Mitchell did.
His pulling power was undoubtedly on show for the Cordero deal. It was reported that Newcastle beat Barcelona and Real Madrid for Cordero, something Dan Ashworth may not have been able to do if he were still at the club.
It’s important that club officials now put their faith in Mitchell to go out and sign the players they need and those who will undoubtedly improve the team for years to come.
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