Newcastle United defender banned from training & forced to return to old club after signing five-year deal

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Miodrag Pivas was an under-the-radar signing for Newcastle United over the summer.

The 19-year-old defender signed a five-year professional contract at the club from Serbian side FK Jedinstvo Ub back in July. Pivas arrived as a highly-rated young player capable of playing at centre-back or defensive midfield and had drawn comparisons with Serbian footballing icon Nemanja Vidic.

However, his move to Newcastle has so far been a frustrating one as he was prevented from training with the first team or under-21s due to work permit issues. The Gazette approached the club for comment on Pivas’ situation and were informed that the teenager would be heading out on loan to Dutch club Willem II.

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But after signing for Willem II for the 2024-25 season, Pivas was met with work permit issues once again. He arrived in Tilburg in late August before his loan was officially confirmed on September 2.

But Pivas was unable to train or play for the club until his work permit cleared him on September 19.

Pivas was made to sit out two matches for Willem before finally making his first appearance in a 2-0 defeat to PSV Eindhoven, where he came on as a late substitute. He then watched on from the bench in the 1-0 win at Almare City last week.

Discussing his loan move, Pivas said: “For my development, I mainly have to train and play minutes at the highest level. Willem II is known for giving young players a chance. I hope that I can gain experience here and then take that with me to my higher goal, playing in the Premier League.”

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The issue in getting a work permit for Pivas was partly down to Serbia not being part of the European Union and therefore different rules apply to allow nationals from that country to work in the Netherlands. A ‘Combined Permit for Residence and Work’ had to be applied for to allow Pivas to work in the country for more than three months, as per his loan agreement.

Without the work permit, Pivas could not represent Willem in a professional capacity, meaning he could not even train individually at the club’s training ground. As a result, Pivas returned to Serbia to train with his former club Jedinstvo in order to maintain his fitness.

It also gave him the chance to report to the Dutch embassy in Belgrade to complete formalities as his work permit was processed. More than two weeks after signing for the club, Pivas was eventually cleared to train and play.

Now his first challenge is out of the way, Pivas must now earn his place in the Willem starting line-up.

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