Newcastle United surprise permanent transfer after club trigger January clause for 21y/o - another to follow

As revealed by The Gazette, the 21-year-old midfielder has been training with Hartlepool this month after Newcastle triggered a clause to recall him from his loan spell at Newport County with the view to finding him a new permanent home. Miley has represented Newcastle’s first team in pre-season but leaves without having made a competitive appearance for his boyhood club.

He spent half a season at Newport but injuries limited him to just three starts in League Two. It was his first taste of competitive senior football.

And with six months left on his contract at Newcastle, Miley has been snapped up by Pools. Lennie Lawrence’s side currently sit 13th in the National League table but only four points of a play-off place as things stand.

Following his arrival at Hartlepool, Miley said: “I’m delighted to be here. I had a great feeling as soon as I walked into training and I really wanted to get things over the line.

“I can’t wait to get going and playing in front of the fans. I’ve seen videos of the fanbase and, being a North East lad, I know how passionate the supporters can be so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Hartlepool manager Lawrence confirmed The Gazette’s story after Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat at Barnet. Now the deal has been made official, he said: “It shows intent from the club and chairman in making this kind of signing, both to strengthen the squad now but also with longer term planning.

“Jamie has great quality and real potential. He’s been unfortunate with injuries over the last year, but hopefully we can provide him with a home where he can enjoy his football and continue to grow as a player.”

Last week, Newcastle Under-21s lead coach Diarmuid O’Carroll spoke about finding ‘a home’ for Miley after his loan spell at Newport was brought to a premature end.

“Jamie's done brilliant,” O’Carroll told The Gazette. “He's been brilliant around the group. He's a really good boy. Obviously gets on really well with the lads.

“A talented footballer, like everything, just wants to find a home and get a run of games and get a little bit of confidence in the right team around him.

“But he's someone that we believe has got talent and we'd like to push him on and see where he goes next.”

Newcastle United’s first permanent transfer exit of January - more to follow

Miley is Newcastle’s first permanent transfer exit this window following the loan departures of Isaac Hayden (Portsmouth), Alex Murphy (Bolton Wanderers), Charlie McArthur (Carlisle United) and Travis Hernes (Aalborg BK).

More exits are expected to follow with winger Miguel Almiron set to join his former club Atlanta United for around £10million this week. Almiron has spent the past six years at Newcastle since his £21million arrival from Atlanta back in 2019.

He has gone on to score 30 goals in 223 appearances for The Magpies but leaves having made just one Premier League start so far this season.