Newcastle United poised for double midfielder swoop after agreeing agreement with Manchester United’s teenage target.

Newcastle United are hoping to finalize a deal for 16-year-old midfielder Rory Finneran in the coming weeks.
The Magpies have been tracking the young midfielder since last season and are currently in talks with Blackburn Rovers to agree on a compensation sum.

Newcastle is the ‘probable destination’ for the adolescent, according to youth football specialist ‘The Secret Scout’, as the club aims to seal the transaction in time for the start of pre-season in July.

Finneran has also attracted interest from Germany after making his Blackburn senior debut in the FA Cup during the 2023-24 season. Back in January, the 15-year-old came on as a late substitute in Blackburn’s 5-2 victory over Cambridge United.

Because of his age, he had to wear a Blackburn shirt without the club’s vape industry sponsor, Totally Wicked, on the front.
Finneran has been capped at junior level for the Republic of Ireland and played regularly for Blackburn’s Under-21s team last season. The new talks came after Newcastle agreed to recruit Portsmouth midfielder CJ Afumuzor for the club’s academy. Manchester United expressed interest in the 14-year-old as well.

In recent seasons, Newcastle has added several promising young players to its academy, including Alex Murphy, Cathal Heffernan, Trevan Sanusi, Leo Shahar, Travis Hernes, and Alfie Harrison. A pathway for young players progressing from the academy is also visible, with 18-year-old midfielder Lewis Miley appearing 26 times for Newcastle’s first team last season.

Murphy, Joe White, Ben Parkinson, Amadou Diallo, and Michael Ndiweni, all academy players, appeared for the first team during the 2023-24 season, though the last two were later dismissed.