Newcastle United new signing spotted at iconic Tyneside location after signing four-and-a-half-year deal

Yildiz was in attendance at St James’ Park as Newcastle beat Arsenal 2-0 in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg last Wednesday. While Newcastle have not formally announced the 18-year-old midfielder’s arrival, his move was confirmed by Newcastle naming Yildiz on its Under-21s squad list submitted to the Premier League for the second half of the 2024-25 season.

Reports from Turkey claim Yildiz has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with Newcastle with Gençlerbirligi set to earn £2.5million from the move.

The Turkish midfielder is the latest recruit to bolster Newcastle’s academy and will likely be loaned out for regular first-team experience in the future.

Baran Yildiz takes in the sights

The bridges across the River Tyne have been discussed among supporters as a tongue-in-cheek method to attract new signings to the city.

There is perhaps some logic to it as well with Brazil superstar Neymar posting an image of the Tyne Bridge on his Instagram when visiting Newcastle for the 2012 Olympics. More recently, striker Benjamin Sesko’s agent, Elvis Basanovic, fuelled Newcastle transfer speculation after posting an image of the Tyne Bridge on his Instagram.

Now Yildiz has shared a photo of himself and Batu Kaplan of the Elite Project Group agency at the Hilton Hotel in Gateshead with the Tyne Bridge in the background. If that’s not official confirmation of his arrival on Tyneside, nothing is!

Baran Yildiz reacts to Newcastle move

Last Tuesday, Yildiz also took to Instagram to issue a farewell message to Genclerbirligi after arriving in Newcastle.

He wrote: “Dear Gençlerbirliği Community. Today, I bid farewell to this great family, whose jersey I have proudly worn for nine years, in line with my career planning.

“Let no one doubt that I will do things that will make both Gençlerbirliği and my country proud wherever I go. First of all, I would like to thank our legendary president İlhan Cavcav, my teachers Adnan Özcan, Erol Tokgözler and all the club workers who contributed.”

Newcastle United want more youth signings following Paul Mitchell message

Newcastle are also in talks to sign Malaga winger Antonio Cordero on a pre-contract agreement. The deal would see the 18-year-old join the club on a free transfer once his contract in Spain expires in the summer.

The Magpies have also signed Kyle Fitzgerald and Fraser Harper recently and have already agreed a deal that will see Georgian forward Vakhtang Salia arrive from Dinamo Tbilisi once he turns 18 in August.

Newcastle has expanded its scouting network in recent seasons and were able to identify Yildiz without the youngster making a first-team appearance for Genclerbirligi.

Newcastle sporting director Paul Mitchell previously said: “Scouting and recruiting emerging talent is an essential part of building a sustainable future, particularly within the current PSR framework, so the market is fiercely competitive.

"We continue to scout extensively, both domestically and overseas, with a view to securing players who can come through our talent pathway and, ideally, become part of the first team in future.”

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