'Officially signed' - Teenager spotted with Newcastle United shirt after Everton departure & transfer teased

The 16-year-old defender has agreed a scholarship at Newcastle and will join up with the club’s academy.

Epia took to Instagram to post a picture of himself at Newcastle’s academy with a Newcastle United 2024-25 home shirt with the caption: “Happy to officially sign for @nufc ⚫️⚪️.”

Epia has represented Poland at youth level and is also eligible to represent England and Nigeria. He is a left-sided defender and was listed as a ‘Newcastle United U18 midfielder’ via the Premier League website prior to his signing being announced.

It comes after Newcastle secured a deal with Portsmouth for 14-year-old midfielder, CJ Afumuzor. The club are also pushing to complete a deal to sign 16-year-old midfielder Rory Finneran from Blackburn Rovers as part of an academy summer recruitment drive. Finneran made his first-team debut for Blackburn in the FA Cup back in January and has featured regularly for the club’s Under-21s side.

On Sunday, Epia posted a farewell message to Everton ahead of his Newcastle move.

“I want to thank all the staff and players at @everton that have helped support my development over the last 7 years, I’ve had a great journey,” he wrote. “It has been a tough decision but I feel like the time has come for me to find a new challenge, I want to wish the club all the best for the future💙.”

Finneran has reacted to Epia’s last two posts on Instagram with clapping emojis. The new Newcastle youngster responded with an ‘eyes’ emoji, hinting at a potential link-up on Tyneside this summer.