Newcastle United are sweating over senior transfers, but have been able to complete a deal for a player who made his professional debut at the age of 15-years-old.
Paul Mitchell is yet to enhance Eddie Howe’s first-team squad since being appointed as sporting director, but there is hope that Newcastle are close to a transfer breakthrough.
That is vital, as the new Premier League season is less than three weeks away. The fact that Newcastle United have not made any major additions beyond Lloyd Kelly’s free transfer is concerning.
But while the senior side awaits reinforcements, the youth setup on Tyneside has welcomed a new addition.
Newcastle United have been closing in on teenage sensation
It was reported at the beginning of July that a teenager could be on his way to St James’ Park, with Newcastle United confident about signing Rory Finneran from Blackburn Rovers.
Finneran is a 16-year-old midfielder who has already been in and around the first-team at Ewood Park, making his senior debut in the FA Cup at the age of just 15.
The Irishman is a major talent, and it was reported by Fabrizio Romano at the end of July that Finneran was set to sign his contract with Newcastle after leaving Blackburn.
The transfer expert was spot on, with Finneran now confirming his move to the North East via his official Instagram account.
Rory Finneran confirms he has signed for Newcastle United
The teenager has taken to his Instagram account to announce that he is now a Newcastle United player, sharing photos of him wearing the Magpies’ new Adidas home kit inside St James’ Park.
Alongside the photos, Finneran wrote: “Very excited to sign for @nufc. Can’t wait to get started and see what the future holds.”
It really will be exciting to see what the future holds, and the hope will be that Finneran develops into a first-team star at Newcastle United.
He was already well on his way to doing that at Blackburn, with the Lancashire side previously having plans for him to be with the first-team for the upcoming season. Instead, he will be a Newcastle United player, and it might take him a little bit more time to reach that level.
Finneran to link up with Newcastle’s exciting crop of youngsters
Given his age, you would assume that Finneran will start in the Newcastle youth setup rather than immediately working with the senior side. But given he has already made a senior appearance in the game, it would not be a surprise if he bypassed the Under-18s and was fast-tracked to the Under-21s.
Finneran joins an exciting crop of young players on Tyneside, with a lot of his new teammates currently out in Japan for pre-season with the first-team.
Newcastle beat Urawa Red Diamonds 4-1 on Wednesday, with the likes of Trevan Sanusi and Alfie Harrison impressing off the bench. They are two other players who have joined the Magpies over the past 12 months, and both have the potential to become Premier League regulars.
While it is proving difficult to make first-team signings, Newcastle are certainly setting themselves up for a bright future. Lewis Hall was impressive on Wednesday, and he is only 19, while there is also still hope that Garang Kuol can live up to the hype.
That will also be the hope with Finneran, who becomes the second exciting teenager to join Newcastle United in recent weeks. Toon officials also completed a deal for Miodrag Pivas, a 19-year-old Serbian centre-back who can also play in midfield.
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