Newcastle United are facing major decisions over several academy players between now and the end of the season.
Newcastle United have reportedly made a firm decision over the future of a player once viewed as one of the most exciting prospects within their academy system.
The Daily Mail report that former Manchester City youngster Alfie Harrison will depart St James Park when his contract comes to an end this summer and bring down the curtain on his Magpies career without making a senior competitive appearance. There was great excitement when Harrison joined Newcastle’s academy setup in February 2024 and that enthusiasm appeared to be well placed when the attacking midfielder netted three goals and provided one assist in his first three appearances for the Magpies Under-18s.
The youngster also made an impact during his early months with United’s Under-21s as he provided assists for the likes of Ben Parkinson and Kyle Crossley in wins against West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City before the enf of the 2023/24 season. Harrison’s progress was rewarded with senior call-ups for pre-season friendlies against Urawa Red Diamonds, Yokohama Marinos and Girona and his experience served him well as he went on to provide four goals and seven assists in 27 appearances for the Under-21s during the same season.
Harrison featured during first-team friendlies against Team K League, Espanyol and Atletico Madrid last summer but talk of interest from a number of clubs keen to take Harrison on loan failed to materialise into a firm offer ahead of the current season. The 20-year-old struggled to find form during the first half of the campaign and has spent most of the second half of the season on the sidelines with an injury. Harrison is out of contract this summer and it now appears his time with Newcastle will come to an end in June. There is sure to be interest from the EFL, Scotland and clubs abroad in the youngster and he will hope he can realise his potential elsewhere.
Attitude
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The Magpies academy hierarchy are facing a number of decisions over several members of their Under-18s and Under-21s squads and conversations are ongoing over their immediate future with the club. United have already confirmed young trio Michael Mills, Oliver Goodbrand and Alfie Hutchison have penned their first professional contracts as a reward for what academy director Steve Harper described as ‘embracing the standards’ set within the Magpies academy.
He told the club website: “Michael, Oliver and Alfie have all shown real commitment to their development since arriving at the Academy, and this is an important milestone for each of them. They’ve each come to us from different environments, but all three have embraced the standards we set, on and off the pitch, and their attitude has been first class. Signing a first professional contract is only the start, of course, but they’ve earned this opportunity through the hard work they have shown since arriving with us. We’re looking forward to supporting them as they continue to progress through our pathway.”
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