Leo Shahar leaves Newcastle for FC Arouca loan - Club statement
Newcastle United have announced a series of ins and outs since Tuesday's 11pm deadline.
We saw confirmation of Sean Neave's loan switch to Wolves on Wednesday morning, then Friday afternoon brought confirmation that Ousmane Diabate had completed a move from Turkish side Gençlerbirliği S.K.
Then, last night, there was news of a loan move for Leo Shahar, with the teenage right back heading to Portugal for the 2026/27 season.
Newcastle confirm Shahar loan
Newcastle have announced that Leo Shahar has joined Portuguese side FC Arouca on a season-long loan.
After impressing with our Under-21s, featuring in the Champions League briefly last season and impressing in our pre-season clash with Strasbourg three weeks ago, the 19-year-old will spend 2026/27 in the Portuguese top flight.
Arouca are currently third in Liga Portugal, behind only Porto and Sporting Lisbon after three wins from their opening four games.
A club statement from Newcastle United on Friday night reads:
Newcastle United full-back Leo Shahar has completed a season-long loan switch to Portuguese top- flight side FC Arouca.
The 19-year-old made his first-team debut for the Magpies earlier this year, appearing as a second-half substitute in February's UEFA Champions League victory over Qarabağ FK at St. James' Park.
Leo now joins an Arouca team who sit third in the Primeira Liga table following a strong start to the campaign.
Everybody at Newcastle United wishes Leo the very best of luck for the season ahead.
A sensible move now Dedic has signed
At one stage of pre-season, it looked like Shahar could stick around and offer cover in that right-back role.
However, with Amar Dedic shining since his £29.5m move from Benfica and Tino Livramento closing in on a comeback from injury, Shahar will find senior minutes hard to come by on Tyneside this season.
This is a big jump for the teenager, who will head abroad to a new league for his first prolonged taste of senior football, but he's looked confident in recent appearances and seems ready to take on the challenge.
All the best, Leo!
