'Delighted' - Former Newcastle United midfielder finds new club after contract dispute & FA involvement
A former Newcastle United academy player has secured a summer transfer after being caught up in a major contract dispute.
Former Newcastle United academy player Jay Turner-Cooke has found a new club after a contract extension dispute with Halifax Town.
The 22-year-old has joined League Two side Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer after Halifax claimed to have triggered an extension option in his contract. At the time of writing, Halifax have not publicly acknowledged the move that has seen Turner-Cooke officially announced as a Shrewsbury player.
The midfielder was released by Newcastle last summer and joined Halifax in the National League as a free agent 74 days later.
He went on to score four goals in 41 appearances for the Shaymen in all competitions last season before supposedly being released on May 5 when his initial contract expired. A dispute arose after Halifax later triggered an extension option in Turner-Cooke’s already-expired contract 25 days later.
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The situation was further complicated by the Football Association’s decision to accept the extension, which not only seemingly blocked Turner-Cooke’s path to finding a new club, but left him unpaid for May and June.
Halifax maintained that they acted appropriately and within FA rules. But Turner-Cooke’s situation was not an isolated incident at Halifax this summer. Striker Will Harris was also subject to a contract extension but has since been announced as a new signing for Hartlepool United.
Halifax responded to the transfer by putting out a statement claiming to still hold the registration for Harris.
But Halifax manager John McGrath has since admitted both players would be leaving the club.
McGrath told the Halifax Courier: "It looks like both players will be moving on, it looks like both players won't be Halifax Town players next year.”
Now both players have found new clubs, with Turner-Cooke taking to Instagram to reveal his delight over the move to Shrewsbury.
He posted an image of himself holding up a Shrewsbury shirt with the caption: “Delighted to have signed for @shrewsburytown , can’t wait to meet you all. Let’s go.”
Shrewsbury manager Gavin Cowan also spoke about the midfielder’s arrival.
“Jay is a player I've monitored for some time, both during his time at Newcastle and more recently at Halifax,” he told the Shrewsbury club website.
“I also came up against him in my previous role - he’s a hyper-talent with an incredibly high ceiling. He joins what is already a very competitive midfield alongside players like Isaac England, Isaac Fletcher, Tom Sang, Jack Price and Will Gray.
“It's an area where we have real strength, and we'll need every one of those players over the course of the season.
“Jay is a high-level performer. He's not come here simply to compete – Jay has come here because he wants to dominate at the level.
“He has made it clear he wants to buy into the whole culture around the club and I’m really pleased to have him and his family in Shropshire.
"We've been working hard on this deal for quite some time, so we're all really excited to get it over the line and to welcome Jay to Shrewsbury Town.”
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