Newcastle United are busy in the transfer market, but not the way fans would have hoped.
It has been a fairly quiet transfer window on Tyneside so far. Only one signing has been made, but for Newcastle’s academy rather than the first-team.
17-year-old striker Kyle Fitzgerald is set to sign for Newcastle in the next week. The Irishman impressed during a trial earlier in the season.
From a departures perspective, a lot of balls have been rolling as Newcastle sporting director Paul Mitchell looks to make as much profit as possible to help comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules.
It looked like Martin Dubravka was leaving Newcastle earlier in the window. Eddie Howe is now reluctant to let the 35-year-old go due to Nick Pope’s extended absence with injury.
Lloyd Kelly has had interest from abroad in recently. Both Fenerbahce and Juventus have placed bids for Kelly which were knocked back by Newcastle. Howe confirmed that Kelly has not spoken to him regarding an exit.
Elsewhere, Newcastle are about to sell Miguel Almiron back to Atlanta United, the club he left to join the Magpies in 2019. The Magpies are set to pocket around £10million from that deal.
The departures are not set to stop either. A recent report has now confirmed that a player who requested a January move has now got his wish.
Alex Murphy set to join Bolton on loan
Alex Murphy has been around Newcastle’s first-team squad many times in the last 18 months.
The 20-year-old made his first appearance for the Magpies during the 2023/24 campaign, coming on as a late substitute in Newcastle’s 4-1 win against Chelsea at St James’ Park in November 2023.
Murphy has been named on the bench many times. He was most recently part of Howe’s matchday squad for Newcastle’s FA Cup win against Bromley.
In December, it was reported that Newcastle planned to loan Murphy out in January. Now, it looks like that has happened. On X, Craig Hope has stated that Murphy is expected to complete a loan move to League One side Bolton on Monday.
Murphy had expressed a desire to leave Newcastle on loan. He claimed that he wanted to “show what he can do in men’s football.”
The Irishman played six times for Newcastle’s under-21s this season but was not in the squad for their most recent game against Southampton in the Premier League 2.
Murphy has a chance to shine away from Newcastle
Given his first-team appearances and the number of times he has been included in a matchday squad, Howe clearly sees Murphy’s potential.
Murphy had interest from Championship clubs in the summer but has had to settle for a League One move.
Bolton is a great move for Murphy. He has the chance to get much more first-team game time for a club who are likely to be in the play-offs this season.
The League One side are currently ninth in the table, just three points off a play-off spot. Murphy will have the chance to play against some of the league’s high-flyers including Wrexham, Stockport County and Birmingham before the end of the season.
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