Premier League sides, including Manchester United, are eyeing Reading’s teenage striker Danny Loader, and Steve Bruce must make sure Newcastle are one of those interested clubs.
The England Under-20 international is out of contract in the summer, and talks over a new deal at the Championship club are said to have stalled, according to Sky Sports.
It may force the Royals to consider cashing in on their asset in January, rather than risk losing him for a minimal compensatory fee at the end of the season.
Newcastle have focused on signing young talent recently, and they will surely be aware of Loader’s situation at Reading, as they continue to scout raw talent from around the country.
Loader almost signed for Wolves in the summer, and after the deal fell through the youngster made it clear that he saw his future in the Championship.
According to Sky Sports, the 5ft 9in striker said at the time: “I’m very ambitious, my dream is to play on the biggest stage and you never know when these opportunities will come around again.”
It seems that next opportunity may come around sooner rather than later for Loader, who has scored one goal in the Championship – against Middlesbrough in the penultimate game of last season.
While Loader may not have enough experience to be the immediate answer to Newcastle’s goal-scoring problems, he is definitely a player we should be trying to bring in for the future.
It could even be worth exploring the possibility of trying to sign him in January, then loaning him straight back to Reading for the remainder of the season.
Newcastle should sign a player like Loader and avoid repeating Ivan Toney mistake
After the decision to sell Ivan Toney without giving him a proper chance looks as though it may be coming back to haunt them, the Magpies must not allow a scenario like that to happen again.
So signing talented prospects like Loader, and nurturing them to fulfil their potential on Tyneside, is a philosophy that could pay dividends in future years.
Loader is currently away with the same England Under-20 squad that Matty Longstaff made his debut for during the current international break, and hopefully the Geordie is telling him all about breaking into the Newcastle senior set-up.
If Newcastle can beat a club like Manchester United to the signature of a player like Loader, it will make a major statement and commitment to the new youth policy at the club.
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