Newcastle United ‘set to sign’ defender while plotting move for Man Utd & Liverpool target

Wolverhampton Wanderers right-back Leo Shahar is reportedly set to join Newcastle, according to Mail Online. The Magpies have been in negotiations with the England Under-16 international over the summer.

The teenager is highly-rated by Wolves and featured regularly for the club’s Under-18s side last season, scoring twice in 15 league appearances.

Wolves head of player development Darren Ryan told the club website: “Every time I watch [Shahar] playing for England he looks comfortable within the environment.

“We know how good he is technically and yes there are things he needs to improve on, but the more camps he’s on and the more call-ups he’s getting, the more comfortable he’s looking.

“His performances are really consistent with the under-18s and he’s getting opportunities now to train with the 21s on the school release days. It’s great to go and see him in that environment with some of the best players in the country.

“He’s been picked on a lot of recent camps because he’s very consistent. He’s performing for us and that’s being seen by the staff and coaches.”

Newcastle are also looking at 16-year-old Birmingham City winger Trevan Sanusi, who has been targeted by Liverpool and Manchester United while 15-year-old West Ham United midfielder Divine Mukasa is also under consideration.

Since Dan Ashworth’s appointment as sporting director at Newcastle last summer, the club has made a significant investment into the academy infrastructure. The Magpies handed a debut to 17-year-old midfielder Lewis Miley in the Premier League at Chelsea in May while several Under-21s players have featured for the first-team in friendly matches over the last 12 months.

Tuesday night’s 2-1 win over Rangers saw Miley feature once again along with academy players Alex Murphy and Joe White. In addition to the young trio, Remi Savage, Jamie Miley, Jay Turner-Cooke and Ben Parkinson have also travelled with the Newcastle squad to the United States for the Premier League Summer Series set to start at the end of the week.

Newcastle will face Aston Villa, Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion during their pre-season tour of America.