18-year-old midfielder is going to have a clear route into Eddie Howe’s Newcastle team

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Newcastle United are finally set to sign someone during the January transfer window, but it is not the arrival that Toon fans have been expecting.

All month, Newcastle have been chasing a midfielder. It is clear that they need reinforcements in that position, especially with Joelinton now out of action until May due to a groin injury.

The Magpies have been heavily linked with signing Kalvin Phillips on loan, but he is now on his way to West Ham United. That could end up being a bit of a blow for Eddie Howe, as it previously looked for all the world that Phillips would be heading to the North East.

He is now taking his talents to London, while another Manchester City midfielder is preparing to swap the Etihad Stadium for St James’ Park.

Newcastle set to sign Alfie Harrison from Manchester City

According to the Athletic, Newcastle United are set to sign Alfie Harrison from Manchester City.

Harrison is an 18-year-old midfielder, and is reportedly due to have a medical with the Magpies before signing a long-term contract. The Athletic add that the fee is undisclosed, and that one of the reasons that the teenager agreed to the move was because there was a clear route for him to become a first-team player at St James’ Park.

That route might be as simple as ‘you’re playing Saturday against Fulham’ because we’ve barely got any centre midfielders right now! Eddie Howe only has three to choose from, one of which is 17-year-old Lewis Miley.

The teenager’s emergence at Newcastle this season can serve as inspiration for Harrison, who will eventually hope to have a similar impact in black and white. And Howe has proven that you will get a chance if you are good enough, with Elliot Anderson also featuring regularly at senior level until his injury.

Harrison certainly looks like an exciting player, and it will be interesting to watch him rise through the ranks on Tyneside. That is the ambition, with Newcastle signing him with the idea that he can be a first-team player in the future.

That might be a few years away, but that is not a problem. Newcastle are thinking ahead with this deal, as they prepare to sign a youngster who has got eight goals and four assists in eight league appearances for the Man City Under-18s this season.