Newcastle United complete deal for winger in January breakthrough as rivals beaten to transfer
Newcastle United will unveil an exciting new signing on January 28 after completing a move for Irish whizz-kid Kyle Fitzgerald.
The teenager will arrive on his 18th birthday to sign a professional contract with the Magpies before joining the Under-21 set-up. Chronicle Live understands the deal for left-winger Fitzgerald is complete, and his move will be confirmed later this month.
Already capped by the Republic of Ireland at youth level, Fitzgerald is believed to be highly-rated by the Magpies and deemed a player they see with a genuine pathway to the first-team. But he will use the early part of 2025 to settle in on Tyneside.
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As reported by Chronicle Live last summer, Fitzgerald won his move to Newcastle after impressing on trial. The club are believed to have beaten Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brighton & Hove Albion to Murphy's signature.
Academy chief Steve Harper does not want to simply stockpile players at the Academy and wants more to follow in the footsteps of Elliot Anderson, Sean Longstaff and Andy Carroll who worked their way up to the first-team from the youth system.
Harper said last year: "Look, I could clog up the U18s and U21s with 21-year-old players and compete at the top of Premier League 2 but that’s running it for me and making it results-driven.
"Instead what will be done here, what will be our mantra from now on, is to give opportunities younger. You will notice our U21s team will be 16, 17 and 18 year olds. It will be accelerated learning and they’ll be stretched. There will be some tough experiences along the way, but that is where resilience comes from."
Fitzgerald has already made his debut for Galway at senior level and has been capped by the Republic of Ireland at youth level. The hope for Fitzgerald is to follow in the footsteps of Alex Murphy who also signed from the Irish club at 18.
