Newcastle United may be struggling to work their magic in the transfer market this month but an exciting deal has been worked on at youth level in recent months. Sporting director Dan Ashworth wants to offer the brightest young talent in football a ‘pathway’ to the first-team – and Manchester City’s Alfie Harrison could be the latest teen sensation handed the opportunity to make his name on Tyneside.
The Magpies have been working on an agreement for the 18-year-old, who has impressed in the Citizens’ youth setup in recent years. Paul Midgley, Newcastle’s Head of Youth Recruitment, who joined the club in 2022 after working as City’s UK Youth Scouting Manager, is said to have played a big part in the transfer pursuit.
Harrison netted six goals and grabbed four assists for City’s youth team in the Under-18 Premier League last season and is thought of as one of the club’s most exciting prospects. Pep Guardiola gave the teenager a taste of first-team life earlier this season, calling Harrison up to train with the senior side before the Champions League win over Young Boys in November.
The midfielder has been likened to Erling Haaland due to his sweeping blonde hair and his sharp finishing, despite playing in a deeper role. Quizzed in a promotional interview earlier in the campaign, youth team-mate Charlie Grey waxed lyrical over Harrison’s talent.
“Mr Erling next to me, what’s the best part of his game? Because he’s been scoring goals and he’s on fire!” asked the interviewer. To which Grey responded: “I’d definitely say his goalscoring. His movement creates a lot of his goals as he gets in good positions from midfield to get there.”
Newcastle have already used their new-found wealth and status to tempt impressive talent to Tyneside from all corners of the United Kingdom, Ireland and on the continent in recent years. Yankuba Minteh, Garang Kuol, Charlie McArthur, Cathal Heffernan, Jude Smith, Alex Murphy, Leo Shahar, Trevan Sanusi and Travis Hernes are just some of the young prospects signed in different age groups since the 2021 takeover.
Ashworth has continuously championed the nurturing of teenage talent at West Bromwich Albion, Brighton and now Newcastle, and is hopeful spotting future gems early will save Newcastle millions in future transfer fees. The hope is that Harrison is good enough to knock on Eddie Howe’s door in years to come.
“It’s about getting the young players in the building that have the potential to play in the Premier League,” Ashworth said back in 2022. “Then, it’s about managing them and giving them the right coaching pathway and game stimulus, which could be with our Under-21s or could be on loan with Shola (Ameobi).
“It’s about giving them the pathway through. There are multiple examples of clubs across the country where the academy is full of talent, but there’s no way through.
“All I can say is that I’m a former academy manager and I’m really passionate about giving young players an opportunity. Football will decide if they’re good enough or not, but what we have to do as a club is give them the right people, the right coaching and the right pathway. And give them the opportunity to play – if they are good enough – in the top half of the Premier League.”
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