Newcastle set to sign Eli Hall ahead of Premier League approval

Newcastle United's first team recruiters have finally kicked into gear with three deals reportedly being worked on, but the youth squad continues to add up-and-coming talent.

It was recently reported that Newcastle were awaiting the Premier League's approval on the signing of 16-year-old Kyle Healy-Matthews from West Ham.

The full-back has agreed to join Newcastle, but the deal is being held up as the Premier League's approval system for young transfers takes a long time to complete.

While that ticks along, Newcastle are ready to send more paperwork the Premier League's way as they put the finishing touches on a move for 14-year-old Eli Hall from Ipswich Town. 

Newcastle are waiting for Premier League approval on Eli Hall

Hall, a talented midfielder, is reportedly one of four or five ‘A-graded’ targets the Magpies hope to bring in this summer, according to The Chronicle.

Newcastle want to find more top youngsters to complement the young stars they've already got at the club from the local area.

Last season, Newcastle's Under 15s brought home a host of trophies, so the approach is already working well for the club.

Onwards and upwards for our young'uns

The club is hoping that this season, some of the talent that has been brought in in recent years will finally start to impact the Under-21s.

After that, it's first-team or bust for the young stars, with Newcastle often a bit indifferent when it comes to giving young stars a chance.

We get glimpses of the future during pre-season, but Eddie Howe is often reluctant to bring his younger stars on during competitive games, even if he's fine with stacking his bench with them.

It is a big point of criticism for some fans, but our argument is that we don't see these youngsters in training every day, Howe does. We might see them playing well for the Under-21s, but that's such a massively different level.

Look at Trevan Sanusi. He looked amazing when we saw him in pre-season a couple of years ago. He was given his chance in the FA Cup win over Bromley, and he even looked out of his depth there, and we've never seen him since.

We all want to see young players come through the academy and do well, but we have to trust that the coaches and the manager know more than we do.