‘Necessary decision’ - Departing West Brom prodigy shares farewell message as he completes Newcastle move

Newcastle United have beaten Premier League rivals Chelsea and Fulham to the signature of highly-rated West Bromwich Albion prodigy Jayden Kouossu, according to reports from The Secret Scout.

The Milan-born midfielder leaves the West Midlands after an eight-year stint in the Baggies academy and has described moving to Newcastle United as the ‘necessary decision’ for him at this stage of his career despite reports of him having trials with both Chelsea and Fulham in recent months.

Kouossu shared an emotional post on Instagram thanking West Brom’s coaches and players after nearly a decade of training with the club. His Instagram post reads: “Never thought this day would come but I announce with a heavy heart after 8 years at the club that I have officially left @wba.

“I would like to give a huge thank you to all the coaches and staff for pushing me to my limits year after year and all of the outstanding teammates throughout the years on the pitch. But I believe this decision was necessary and the story must continue, thank you baggies.”

The talented under-15 midfielder has since liked several comments from supporters saying ‘welcome to Newcastle United’ as he prepares to join the club’s long-line of exciting prospects. This year Newcastle have added the likes of Rory Finneran from Blackburn Rovers, Miodrag Pivas from FK Jedinstvo Ub along with Alfie Harrison, who arrived from Manchester City in January.

Under the PIF regime, Newcastle have made a conscious effort to improve the standard of their academy and in recent times have reaped the benefits of both Elliot Anderson (now of Nottingham Forest) and Lewis Miley, who enjoyed a sensational breakout season last term.

Alex Murphy is another that has often travelled with the Newcastle squad for away games while Jamie Miley and Trevan Sanusi both made huge impressions in pre-season. Changes to the academy structure were announced last week with Chris Moore promoted to under-18s lead coach and James Marwood arriving from Middlesbrough as his assistant.

Meanwhile, Jack Brazil and Ian Skinner are in charge of the under-16s and under-14s respectively, with Graeme Coulson moving up a year-group to become under-15s lead coach.

At under-21 level, Neil Winskill and Jack Ross continue to take interim charges following the departure of Ben Dawson to Leicester City.

Former Magpies goalkeeper Steve Harper remains in his role as the club’s academy director behind the scenes as he helps a number of youngsters make the jump from academy level to senior football.