Newcastle have focused on bringing young talent to the club recently, and that seems to be continuing, with the Chronicle reporting they gave a trial to Arsenal 17-year-old midfielder Stan Flaherty.
Flaherty featured for the Newcastle Under-18 team, who lost 3-0 to Liverpool nine days ago, where he played the full 90 minutes, hitting the crossbar in the second half.
Arsenal were thought to have high expectations for the teenager, with him being part of their academy for seven years, and was included in the group of youngsters who Unai Emery wanted to give opportunities to.
But it has not transpired to be the case for Flaherty, with the English prospect only included in the Arsenal U18 team once this season, when he failed to make it off the bench.
In fact, the only competitive football he has played at that level so far, was in the Newcastle trial on Merseyside.
Newcastle’s efforts to sign young talent is good news
There seems to have been a determined effort by the Magpies to target young potential stars of the future, which all seems to be part of the revamped academy set-up put into action in the summer.
News of Flaherty’s trial is accompanied by a report that Newcastle are close to securing the signature of Queen’s Park’s 16-year-old midfielder Reagan Thomson.
They also brought in a number of youngsters ahead of the season, including Kyle Scott from Chelsea and goalkeeper Jake Turner from Bolton.
It all bodes well for the future of the football club, and while not all youth players make the grade as professional players, the more you have on your books, the more chance you have of unearthing the next big star.
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