Newcastle United have seemingly sealed two senior signings for Eddie Howe already this summer and PIF have also beaten Man Utd to a potential star in the making.
Newcastle transfer latest
The Magpies are already making preparations ahead of the 2024/25 season, and with the summer transfer window set to open, Howe has already admitted the club need to be “smart” with their business.
"I think with our current situation and the landscape of the financial position I am not sure we are able to recruit ready made elite players. The players you are trying to get across, I don't think we are in a position to do that and I don't think we were in a position to do that last year.
"So I think we have to be really smart with our recruitment. I think we have to be maybe different to some of the other clubs we are in and around. It is all about the individual player not what bracket they're in. And what they can do for us and how they can take the team or squad forward."
Two permanent signings already appear to be waiting in the wings, though. Lewis Hall’s loan move from Chelsea is set to become a full-time transfer, whereas Newcastle appear to have won the race to sign defender Lloyd Kelly on a free after he left AFC Bournemouth.
After Hall and Kelly, Newcastle appear to be targeting a new goalkeeper, with Burnley’s James Trafford a top target at St James’ Park. A cut-price move could also be on the cards for Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho, and by the looks of things, the club have also won the race to sign a teenage gem ahead of a number of clubs.
Newcastle to sign teenage midfielder ahead of Man Utd
According to NUFC Blog, Newcastle are set to secure the signing of Chukwudi “CJ” Afumuzor from Portsmouth. Aged just 14, Afumuzor will go into Newcastle’s academy and has already completed a medical with the Magpies, with a fee being agreed with Portsmouth last month.
Aston Villa, Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion were also keen on Afumuzor, but it is Newcastle who have won the race after presenting the best offer.
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The teenager is described as a ‘combative midfielder who operates best as a No.8’. They add that Afumuzor, who already stands at 5ft 9, ‘has been praised for his engine, ball-winning qualities and ability to drive forward at opposition defences’, scoring more than 20 goals for Portsmouth’s youth teams last season.
He looks set to go into Newcastle’s U15 ranks next year, and who knows, in years to come, we could see him make the first team breakthrough at St James’ Park, with the report adding that Afumuzor will be ‘the first of many Academy signings set to arrive this summer’.