Alex Murphy has revealed he is 'buzzing' to join Newcastle United's academy after the youngster's move from Galway United was confirmed.
Murphy, who turns 18 next month, will link up with the club's under-23s side in July after joining the Magpies for an undisclosed fee. The Irishman, who can play at left-back and centre-back, already has experience of men's football after making his professional debut at just 16 and has also captained his country at underage level.
Academy manager Steve Harper has hailed the deal as 'a real coup' and said it was 'testament to the direction the club is going in under our owners'. Given the competition from elsewhere for Murphy's signature, it is not an exaggeration to say that Newcastle may not have won the race if Mike Ashley still owned the club and the 17-year-old certainly can't wait to get started.
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”I’m buzzing to join such a big club," Murphy told Galway United's official website. "I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me get to this stage, especially all my coaches at Corrib Celtic, Galway FA and Galway United.”
Murphy is Newcastle's first signing of the summer as the revamp of the club's academy continues after Tom Allan, Ryan Barrett, Brad Cross, Oisin McEntee, Mo Sangare, Reagan Thomson, Jake Turner and Adam Wilson all departed. While the club's new owners will spend millions on first-team ready signings this month, Murphy will be the first of a number of youngsters who will also join the club in the coming months.
The hierarchy, ultimately, want to create a sustainable club where talented players eventually make the step up from the academy to represent the first team. Eddie Howe, himself, has spoken about how 'that part of the club needs to be brought closer to the first team' in the years to come. Central to that will be spotting some of the very best prospects both in the North East and further afield in countries like Ireland.
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