Newcastle United youngster Stan Flaherty has joined Queens Park Rangers on a permanent contract per the club’s website. The deal will be until the end of this season and the 20-year-old had been on trial with them before signing.
Flaherty impressed in his first season with the Magpies youth side, but wasn’t able to keep the momentum going. He is most comfortable playing as an attacking midfielder but can also play as a winger.
The midfielder will be excited about the new challenge. He’s from West London originally and was a QPR fan growing up. Before joining Newcastle in 2020, Flaherty was in Arsenal’s youth set up.
Flaherty showed real promise early on, but it never quite materialised
As previously mentioned, in his first season Flaherty seemed to be scoring goals for fun. One performance in particular that stood out was against Wolves.
The Magpies may have lost but the goal and shift he put in impressed some fans. His attacking intentions and hunger for goals made him a real handful.
However, the momentum didn’t continue sadly. It tends to be the case with many youngsters at Newcastle – early promise that fizzles out. Flaherty leaves Newcastle with zero first-team appearances.
Perhaps part of the problem has been that the club have struggled to develop the talents of these players. At this moment in time, Paul Dummett, Sean Longstaff and Matty Longstaff are the only players to come through the academy in recent years.
With the investment from the new owners, maybe the Magpies can finally develop some high-quality youth talent in the near future.
There is hope currently. Elliot Anderson is impressing with Bristol Rovers in League Two under Joey Barton. Meanwhile, also in League Two, Joe White has shown promise with Hartlepool United.
If any of the youth talents were to break through it would be those two. Anderson has played in the league and FA Cup under Steve Bruce, while White has been named in matchday squads with Anderson since Eddie Howe took charge.
But for Flaherty, he’s taking his talents to West London.
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