Rory Finneran set for Notts County move - Report

Newcastle United midfielder Rory Finneran is set to join Notts County on a season-long loan, according to RepTracker’s Conor McEvoy.

The move has not been announced by either club yet, but it would give the highly-rated 18-year-old his first prolonged spell in senior football.

Notts County are playing in League One this season, so this is a decent level for Finneran at this stage of his development. He will have to earn his place, obviously, but there should be a good chance for him to get proper minutes under his belt at Meadow Lane.

Finneran made 17 competitive appearances for Newcastle’s Under-21s last season and made his senior Republic of Ireland debut in May. He was also involved throughout Newcastle’s first-team preparations this summer, including 45 minutes against Bayer Leverkusen.

Loans key for Toon talents 

Several of Newcastle’s youngsters were among the few bright spots of a fairly grim pre-season. The next step has to be finding them competitive football rather than sending them back into another full year of academy matches.

Anthony Munda has already joined League Two side Swindon Town for the season, having made it clear earlier this year that he wanted a loan.

Getting equally useful moves for the likes of Dylan Charlton, Miodrag Pivaš, and Sean Neave would be more welcome news. Not every loan needs to be at the same level, but the club must find teams where these players have a realistic route to regular football.

For Finneran, League One at 18 looks like a very good opportunity.