Newcastle United official announcement – Kyle Fitzgerald signing confirmed | OneFootball

Newcastle United have officially confirmed the signing of Kyle Fitzgerald.

The young winger moving to NUFC from Galway United.

This is the first time the club have formally said that Kyle Fitzgerald is now a Newcastle United player.

However, at the end of last week Newcastle United released their senior 25 man Premier League squad list for the rest of the season.

Where if you looked closely (see below), amongst the additional list of Under 21 players, Kyle Fitzgerald and Baran Yildiz were included.

Yildiz signed from Turkish club Genclerbirligi, their General Manager having already confirmed the transfer this past week, for what was a reported transfer fee of up to an eventual £2.5m.

Both new signings are aged 18.

Newcastle United continuing to recruit far and wide when it comes to young players, hopefully some stars of the future.

Newcastle United official announcement – 13 February 2025:

‘Kyle Fitzgerald admitted joining Newcastle United was a “no-brainer” after the Irish teenager completed a move to St. James’ Park from Galway United.

Fitzgerald, who primarily plays as a right winger, progressed through his hometown club’s youth ranks before making his first-team debut in June 2024 at the age of 17.

The Republic of Ireland Under-17 international completed a successful trial with the Magpies last summer and was delighted to put pen to paper on a deal with the club, following in the footsteps of Alex Murphy, who also joined Newcastle from Galway in the summer of 2022.

Fitzgerald, who celebrated his 18th birthday last month, told newcastleunited.com: “I’m very happy. I had a few conversations with different clubs but as soon as Newcastle came in, it was a no-brainer for me. I was on trial in the summer and I really liked the city, people and the atmosphere at St. James’ Park. I want to play for fans who really enjoy hard work, goals and creative players.

“The project really attracted me. Steve Harper and Paul Midgley (Head of Youth Recruitment) showed me the pathway of players such as Alex Murphy, who has came through Galway’s Academy and then signed for Newcastle like myself.

“I used to go to the same school as Alex but I was two or three years younger than him. I did look up to him because he was in Galway’s first-team when I was at the Academy. Hopefully, I can follow in similar footsteps.”

Fitzgerald has trained at United’s Academy this month ahead of his confirmed move to Tyneside and, whilst on trial, the promising youngster also spent pre-season with Newcastle’s under-21s squad, completing work in Spain last summer.

The 18-year-old forward revealed his time spent away with his new teammates proved beneficial ahead of his permanent switch to the club and is relishing the challenge of adapting to English football as well as moving away from home for the first time.

“It was a tough week of training in Pinatar, getting fit in the heat, and also getting to know the lads,” Fitzgerald explained. “They were very welcoming with me and the likes of Heff (Cathal Heffernan), who is also Irish, helped to introduce me into the group and I’m getting very well with them.

“Coming from Ireland into an English academy, there’s a massive difference in quality and training. Back home, I was only training three nights a week whereas, at Newcastle, I’m training five to six mornings and then playing a match at the weekend.

“It’s a massive step up but I think I’ve embraced it well. I’ve already completed a few weeks of training with the under-18s and under-21s squads so I think I’ve already come on as a player in terms of quality but also as a person, getting to know the staff and players.

“Being away from home can be tough but, with the international team, I’m away a lot in different countries so I’m used to that but this is different because I’ll be away for a lot of months without getting home.

“My host family is very nice, though, and I’m really enjoying it. I would say the Geordie people are similar enough to the Irish and are very friendly so I like being among them.”

Fitzgerald is hopeful of making a positive start on Tyneside and has his sights set of making his full professional debut with Eddie Howe’s side.

He added: “Short-term, I want to show the Academy why they signed me and try to get goals, assists and win games. In the long-term, it would be getting into the under-21s squad, playing well for them and showing my qualities.

“Hopefully, the gaffer can give me a chance in a few training sessions to prove myself to try and get into first-team matchday squads and, hopefully, make my debut for Newcastle United in the future.”

Premier League official announcement – 7 February 2025:

U21 players (Contract and Scholars) 1 Anderson, Will Robert 2 Bailey, Scott Patrick 3 Bloomer, Guy Thomas 4 Brayson, Joe 5 Bryant, Thomas Jon 6 Charlton, Dylan Harry 7 Cogdon, Jude Anthony 8 Craggs, Luke Steven 9 Donaldson, Josh Kevin 10 Durrant, Jake Thomas 11 Emerson, Johnny William 12 Epia, Aaron Ovie 13 Finneran, Rory James 14 Fitzgerald, Kyle Wesley 15 Hall, Lewis 16 Harper, Fraser Harrison 17 Harris, Aidan Francis 18 Harrison, Adam Alan 19 Harrison, Alfie JJ 20 Heffernan, Cathal Sean 21 Hernes, Travis Enrique 22 Huntley, James Alan 23 Johnson, Henry William 24 Jones, Tyler Stuart 25 Kuol, Garang 26 Lucas, Kayden 27 McArthur, Charlie Walter 28 Miley, Lewis 29 Munda, Anthony Junior 30 Murphy, Alex 31 Neave, Sean Thomas 32 O’Donovan, Alexander John 33 Osula, William Idamudia Daugaard 34 Palmer, Darren Joseph Zabid 35 Parkinson, Ben 36 Pivas, Miodrag 37 Powell, Harry Llewelyn 38 Powell, Rory Dalgleish 39 Rodrigues Ferreira, Matheos 40 Sanusi, Trevan Farooq 41 Sedibeh Sidibeh, Muhamadou 42 Shahar, Leo Oren 43 Stanton, Ellis Christopher 44 Taylor, James David 45 Taylor, Matthew David 46 Thompson, Ciaran James 47 Thompson, Max Anthony 48 Tika-Lemba, Ezra Gabriel Mekhi 49 Turner-Cooke, Jay 50 Waddani, Mohammed 51 Watts, Logan Mathew 52 Wooster, Kacey Robert Mikie 53 Yildiz, Baran

The senior Newcastle United 25 man Premier League squad for the rest of the season has also been named.

So in this new 25 man NUFC senior squad, actually only 24 named.

It includes five goalkeepers and only 19 outfield senior (not rated as Under 21 players).

25 Squad players (*Home grown) 1 Apolinario De Lira, Joelinton Cassio 2 Barnes, Harvey Lewis* 3 Botman, Sven Adriaan 4 Burn, Daniel Johnson* 5 Dubravka, Martin 6 Gillespie, Mark Joseph* 7 Gordon, Anthony Michael* 8 Guimaraes Rodriguez Moura, Bruno 9 Isak, Alexander 10 Kraft, Emil Henry Kristoffer 11 Lascelles, Jamaal* 12 Lewis, Jamal* 13 Livramento, Valentino* 14 Longstaff, Sean David* 15 Murphy, Jacob Kai* 16 Pope, Nicholas David* 17 Ruddy, John Thomas Gordon* 18 Schar, Fabian Lukas 19 Targett, Matthew Robert* 20 Tonali, Sandro 21 Trippier, Kieran John* 22 Vlachodimos, Odisseas 23 Willock, Joseph George* 24 Wilson, Callum Eddie Graham*