'Excited' - Newcastle United close in on young midfield signing from Championship club

Newcastle United are set to sign Portsmouth academy midfielder CJ Afumuzor.

Afumuzor, 14, is expected to join up with Newcastle’s academy this summer after eight years with Portsmouth, according to The News. The teenager confirmed his departure on Instagram at the end of the season, stating: “23/24 season done. Massive thank you to @pompey and everyone at the club for developing over the last 8 years.

“Excited to see what the future holds🤞🏾.”

Portsmouth are entitled to compensation for Afumuzor but the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) limits how much Newcastle will have to pay.

Newcastle are making strides to improve their academy set-up as it can provide a huge boost to clubs looking to adhere to Financial Fair Play rules. Investment into the academy does not impact Premier League Profitability and Sustainability rules, which limit clubs to £105million in losses over a three year period.

However, player sales of academy products count as ‘pure profit’ in PSR calculations, allowing clubs to spend more on transfers.

The Magpies signed a number of promising young players in recent seasons with Alex Murphy, Cathal Heffernan, Trevan Sanusi, Leo Shahar and Alfie Harrison all joining the academy set-up. A pathway for young players progressing from the academy is also evident with 18-year-old midfielder Lewis Miley playing 26 times for Newcastle’s first-team last season.

Academy players Murphy, Joe White, Ben Parkinson, Amadou Diallo and Michael Ndiweni also featured for the first team during the 2023-24 campaign while academy graduates Sean Longstaff and Elliot Anderson are established players under Eddie Howe.