Latest news with #Under21s
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Newcastle United complete signing of 'elite talent' as incoming transfer is confirmed
NEWCASTLE UNITED have completed the signing of South Korean winger Seung-soo Park from K League 2 side Suwon Bluewings. The 18-year-old has made 28 senior appearances for the Bluewings in all competitions, registering one goal and three assists. Park, who has been capped five times for South Korea Under-20s, will join the club's academy and link up with the Magpies' Under-21 squad. Park said: "It's a huge honour to join Newcastle United. It's a big step for me and I feel incredibly thankful for the faith the club have shown in me. "I'm excited to develop here, learn from the coaches, and give everything to become the best player I can be." READ MORE:After coming through the youth system at Suwon Bluewings, Park became the youngest goalscorer in the history of South Korean professional football when he netted in a 1-1 draw against Ansan Greeners FC in June 2024. Magpies academy director, Steve Harper, added: "Park is an exciting young talent with real potential. "He's already shown maturity beyond his years in a competitive environment and we're delighted to welcome him to the club. "His signing reflects our commitment to identifying and developing elite talent from across the globe and credit must go to our recruitment network, who continue to do an excellent job in identifying talented young players who have the potential to thrive here. "We've seen our talent pathway produce some outstanding success stories in recent seasons and Park now joins a group of young players with that same opportunity ahead of them."
The Herald Scotland
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Celtic target valued at £7m and compared to ex-Ajax star
But Go Ahead want far more money for the Danish Under 21s star. And former Twente Enschede and Go Ahead Eagles boss Jan van Staa reckons it's no surprise top clubs are monitoring the 21-year-old. He said: "You know what it is about Breum? Every club is looking for something Breum is certainly special. "I am not saying he will have the same career as Dusan Tadic, but he reminds me of him and Twente sold him for £7 million. Read more: "Breum has already played a lot of games for a young player. "It would be a lot of money for him, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if a big club would pay that. "Look at his form last season and his potential. "If I really wanted to find a special player in the Netherlands, he'd be on that list. "You're looking for extra class and this guy has extra class."
New York Times
17-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Man Utd's plans for young players including Leon, Amass, Collyer and Kukonki
It was quite the statement of intent. Diego Leon had not even passed through security at Asuncion's Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, let alone landed in Manchester. 'Everyone thinks I'll go out on loan, but I don't have that mindset,' he told Paraguayan outlet Versus. 'I'm going to kill it in pre-season and within one or two games, I'll already be playing with them.' Advertisement He was certainly right about one thing: a loan is not part of the plan. Manchester United's second summer signing — albeit one where the deal was agreed in January — is expected to stay put for the duration of the coming season, to help him acclimatise to English football. Now finally at Carrington, 18-year-old Leon has been taking part in first-team training sessions exclusively over the past week and a half as head coach Ruben Amorim and his staff assess his level. Whether he remains part of the senior side's training programme or joins the under-21s is still to be decided. Either way, the young South American will have opportunities to impress on the upcoming pre-season tour to Sweden and the United States, and will then likely play at least a few games for the under-21s on his return. There is a chance he could progress quickly from there, but Leon faces the same challenge as every other young player at the club hoping to break through in the new season. Failure to qualify for European competition for the first time in more than a decade means that there will be fewer first-team level opportunities to go around at United in 2025-26. After playing 60 matches across five competitions last season, that figure could fall by a third if Amorim's side go out of the domestic cups at the first hurdle. One who benefited from Amorim having to balance resources between domestic and European fixtures in the previous campaign's final weeks was Harry Amass, also 18 and a direct rival to Leon as left wing-back cover. Amass is currently thought to be ahead of the newcomer in the pecking order for that position, which was not necessarily a given in January, but is only to be expected given the 17-year-old made four starts towards the end of last season and rarely looked out of place. There is still a possibility that Amass goes out on loan, however, if it transpires his playing time is likely to be limited as a result of Leon's arrival. Amorim has two talented youngsters to provide cover for first-choice Patrick Dorgu, as well as Luke Shaw's experience if required. Toby Collyer is another who may need more minutes than he can realistically expect at United in the coming season, having risen to prominence and established himself as a first-team squad member during last summer's tour. Advertisement Collyer, who turned 21 on January 3, can still just about be considered a youngster — had he been born three days earlier, he would not meet the Premier League's definition of an under-21 player this season. Options remain open as to whether he will stay, be sold or leave on loan. Other youngsters are more established as depth options for Amorim. Ayden Heaven, 18, was trailed as a first-team level signing upon his arrival in January anyway, and would have made more than his six appearances if not for a March ankle ligament injury. Chido Obi, 17, can also expect more opportunities, as his change of squad number from 56 to 32 reflects. Although it is common for young players to move to a different shirt during the summer as a new intake comes through in lower age groups, a rise into the mid-30s is not insignificant. Obi may occasionally appear for the under-21s this season, depending on his level of first-team involvement, but is expected to be a regular name in Amorim's squads, and at 17 he can be considered a first-team squad member. After scoring his first senior goals against Hong Kong on the end-of-season tour in May, it has been noted at Carrington that the Denmark Under-21 international has added a touch more bulk to his 6ft 2in (188cm) frame over the summer, which could further help his transition to senior men's football. Tyler Fredricson has been rewarded with a change of shirt number too — 55 to 33 — and has also trained with the first team regularly this past week. A loan cannot be entirely ruled out for the 20-year-old, especially on the off-chance United were to add to their centre-back options this summer, but he has shown he can provide emergency cover after an accomplished debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers in April. At the same time, there is a greater impetus this summer to help those youngsters unlikely to break through into the United first team start their careers away from Carrington — in the three divisions of the EFL and elsewhere. Advertisement Academy staff are consulting with players and their representatives. In some cases, the club are willing to take low fees, or none, with add-ons attached to facilitate exits and free up space for younger talents coming through from the academy. Some with senior debuts to their name are likely to secure moves away. Dan Gore was injured in his very first game for Rotherham United after they borrowed him in January and only made three appearances in all, but the League One club are now leading the race to take the 20-year-old on loan again. Ethan Wheatley, 19, will hope for a more productive spell away after a frustrating time at Walsall ended with him making only four appearances in their League Two campaign. Another loan is the likeliest outcome, though United may be open to a sale if they receive a suitable offer. Sekou Kone, meanwhile, is still waiting to make his senior debut. The 19-year-old midfielder is considered part of United's 'emerging talent' group — young players signed with a view to quickly progressing towards the first team. You may have noticed the same phrase appearing in the announcements confirming the signings of Leon and Enzo Kana-Biyik, the 18-year-old striker who joined last week from Le Havre of France as a free agent, and will spend the coming season on loan at Switzerland's Lausanne-Sport. As with Leon, Kone's level is currently being assessed before a decision is made on whether he is ready to contribute more often at first-team level. A loan or another season spent predominantly with United's under-21s are both still options. In goal, Andre Onana's recent injury has raised the question of whether Radek Vitek, 21, who enjoyed a solid loan spell at Austrian side Blau-Weiss Linz last season, or under-21s goalkeeper Elyh Harrison, 19, would be ready to deputise during pre-season. But United are well stocked for backups in Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton and 22-year-old Dermot Mee, with the latter now serving as a first-team training goalkeeper. Onana will still go on the three-game U.S. tour despite his injury, which may leave only one spot open to either Vitek or Harrison. Advertisement Shea Lacey, 18, ended a frustrating year by catching the eye on that post-season tour and has trained with the first team since returning to Carrington. After his injury issues, he is likely to stay to gain more experience at under-21 level rather than go out on loan. His fellow winger Bendito Mantato is another to have been in with the first-team squad several times over the past week. Although only a second-year scholar and therefore still eligible for the under-18s, the 17-year-old is expected to build on his five appearances for the under-21s to date. It is a similar story for Godwill Kukonki, who at 17 is set to sign his first professional contract with United and featured in several of Amorim's squads last term. More minutes at centre-half are required for a 6ft 4in, left-footed defender who played many of his under-18s games at left-back. As some step up to play more under-21s football, a new intake comes in at under-18 level. One of the 'Class of 2025' is Jayden Ngwashi, a 16-year-old centre-back who attracted interest from a range of clubs before committing to a further scholarship with United this summer. Then there is JJ Gabriel, who scored three goals in three appearances for the under-18s last season despite still only being 14 years old. United are understandably conscious of managing the attention around a player so young, while also needing to test him among older players in environments that challenge and push his development. That careful balancing act is set to go on for a while yet, after Gabriel committed to remaining a United player for the foreseeable future. The next challenge will be keeping him beyond his 16th birthday, when clubs in Europe will be able to come to the negotiating table, and efforts at Carrington to keep a promising talent in the building will be redoubled. At least when trying to convince any young player that they are the right club for their development, only United can say they have had an academy graduate in the matchday squad for every game they've played since October 1937. Advertisement Because even in seasons like the one beginning at Old Trafford against Arsenal a month from today, when fewer first-team fixtures could mean a narrower pathway, the same logic that has been in place for 88 years still applies: if a youngster is good enough, they will get their chance.
The National
14-07-2025
- Sport
- The National
Reason Flamengo president vetoed £4.5m move for ex-Celtic ace
But the Rio de Janeiro club's manager Filipe Luis admitted he was desperate to sign the West Brom star. The former Scotland Under 21s player, who switched international allegiances to Ireland, was gutted when his £4.5 million surprise move to Flamengo collapsed last week. And the club's president explained they performed a U-turn after studying his injury record. Baptista said: "Why not Mikey Johnston? Because the club's medical report said he would be fit to play for 1,800 minutes a season. "How many has he played this season? 900. So am I going to bring in a player to play 900 minutes when I still have to play another 4,000 minutes? Read more: "These are decisions you have to make. It's not personal against the player. It's for Flamengo. "He may be a great athlete, a great professional, but for Flamengo's needs, at this moment, in my opinion, he wasn't ideal." Johnston actually played 2,078 minutes in the English Championship for WBS last season and not the 900 claimed by the Flamengo president. And boss Luis said: "Obviously, I approved the transfer. "They sent me the videos, his characteristics, and I approved. That's all I can say."
The Herald Scotland
14-07-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Reason Flamengo president vetoed £4.5m move for ex-Celtic ace
The former Scotland Under 21s player, who switched international allegiances to Ireland, was gutted when his £4.5 million surprise move to Flamengo collapsed last week. And the club's president explained they performed a U-turn after studying his injury record. Baptista said: "Why not Mikey Johnston? Because the club's medical report said he would be fit to play for 1,800 minutes a season. "How many has he played this season? 900. So am I going to bring in a player to play 900 minutes when I still have to play another 4,000 minutes? Read more: "These are decisions you have to make. It's not personal against the player. It's for Flamengo. "He may be a great athlete, a great professional, but for Flamengo's needs, at this moment, in my opinion, he wasn't ideal." Johnston actually played 2,078 minutes in the English Championship for WBS last season and not the 900 claimed by the Flamengo president. And boss Luis said: "Obviously, I approved the transfer. "They sent me the videos, his characteristics, and I approved. That's all I can say."
