With all eyes on the future, Newcastle United are reportedly closing in on signing a Championship wonderkid to hand Eddie Howe a project for years to come.
Newcastle transfer news
The Magpies aren't messing around, that's for sure, with a deal to sign Lloyd Kelly upon the expiry of his Bournemouth contract reportedly on the cards and a similar deal to sign Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo being lined up. The duo will instantly ease Howe's defensive depth concerns following long-term injuries to both Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman.
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The player has produced an excellent campaign in 2023/24.
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What's more, reports also suggest that those at St James' Park are working on signing a new goalkeeper, with Villarreal's Filip Jorgensen the latest name to be linked with a move this summer. The young shot-stopper would deputise Nick Pope before eventually replacing the England international, who is currently 32 years old and just back from a long-term injury blow.
It's clear that Newcastle are hoping to put their European failure behind them as they look to make up for a disappointing campaign next season. To avoid a repeat of such failure, however, signing future stars would certainly help, which is where one deal could come in.
According to NUFC Blog, Newcastle are closing in on signing Rory Finneran from Blackburn Rovers this summer. The defensive midfielder is yet to sign his first professional contract, making any deal that much easier, and impressed many in English football by becoming Blackburn Rovers' youngest ever player at just 15 years old. Now 16, Finneran looks set to take his biggest step yet.
Newcastle, of course, have proven their pathway to the first-team in the last year, with Lewis Miley becoming a consistent part of Howe's side in the Premier League.
"Talented" Finneran can follow Miley path
Miley, still only 18 years old, himself, has been quite the revelation for Newcastle in the last year, making 26 appearances for Howe's side in total with three of those coming in the Champions League.
The young central midfielder even came away with one goal and four assists, with one of those assists coming in a 2-1 defeat against AC Milan. It is the type of first season that every young player dreams of having and one that Finneran will be desperate to replicate if he completes a move.
If the praise of former Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson is anything to go by, then Newcastle will be getting a true gem. Tomasson told The Lancashire Telegraph after handing the teenager his debut: "Rory is a talented boy, he can play with his left or right feet and has great vision. We shouldn’t forget he is still very young for this level but I thought it was a good opportunity to give him that experience.
"I have worked a lot with him already. He has been away a bit with the national teams but he has been training with me a lot of days over Christmas and the past few days."
