Howe confirms January signing as Toon boss reveals plan to recruit top young talent
Eddie Howe has confirmed that Man City talent Alfie Harrison is signing for Newcastle, welcoming the 18-year-old to Tyneside following a recent agreement.
The Athletic's David Ornstein revealed earlier this week that we'd struck a deal with the champions for the 18-year-old attacker and Howe was quizzed on these reports during today's press conference.
Asked about his arrival, he said, "We welcome him (Harrison) into the football club. I wasn't directly involved in that transfer but certainly, he's a highly talented player and we hope he does really well with us.
"We have to sign talented young players, whether that's signing a 12-year-old locally for our academy or players from other Premier League before they've matured into the players they're going to be. It's an avenue for us to try and improve our development of players."
It's clear that Newcastle have made it their mission to boost our academy and bring in talented teenagers capable of breaking into the first-team in years to come.
Dan Ashworth has overseen moves for the likes of Yankuba Minteh and Garang Kuol, while new head of youth recruitment Paul Midgley - formerly of Man City - played a key role in convincing Harrison to sign.
Harrison has eight goals and four assists in eight appearances in the U18 Premier League this season, earning their 'No 10' a call-up to their U21 side.
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