Newcastle United first January signing unofficially confirmed - Spurs, West Ham & Celtic snubbed

Newcastle United have completed the signing of 18-year-old Alfie Harrison from Manchester City, according to Eddie Howe.

The Magpies agreed a deal with Manchester City earlier this week for the midfielder for an undisclosed fee. It is understood the fee is nominal from Newcastle's perspective with Harrison signing a long-term deal.

Harrison had impressed at Manchester City's academy this season with eight goals and four assists in 10 appearances. The teenager is Newcastle's first January signing, albeit a youth one, and will join up with the club's academy at under-18s and under-21s level.

Newcastle's head of youth recruitment Paul Midgley, who joined the club from Manchester City in 2022, played a role in the move which provides the player with 'a clear path towards first-team action'. Clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Celtic had also been linked with the player before he agreed to join Newcastle.

While Newcastle or Manchester City are yet to officially confirm the transfer, Howe said: "We welcome him into the football club, I wasn't directly involved in that transfer but we welcome him into the club. He's a very talented young player and we hope he does really well with us."

Howe went on to stress the importance of youth signings to the club's long-term transfer strategy moving forward.

"That's where the club has to be," he admitted. "We have to sign talented young players, whether that's a 12-year-old locally for our academy or signing players from other Premier League clubs before they mature into the players they're going to be, it's an avenue for us to try and improve our development of players."