Newcastle United official announcement – Diarmuid O’Carroll joins Sparta Prague | OneFootball

Diarmuid O’Carroll has left Newcastle United and joined Sparta Prague.

The news relayed via an official Newcastle United announcement (see below) on Monday afternoon.

Diarmuid O’Carroll was lead coach for the NUFC Under 21s and joins as a first team coach at Sparta Prague.

Interesting to see Steve Harper thinks this is a very positive departure.

In that the Newcastle United Academy Director says the move proves that the club is a good place to come to when getting a position at the Academy, as it has now been shown a number of times that coaches can then progress to first team posts at other clubs.

Newcastle United official announcement – 16 June 2025;

‘Newcastle United Under-21s lead coach Diarmuid O’Carroll has joined Czech First League side Sparta Prague as a first team coach.

The 38-year-old led the Magpies’ under-21 side from September 2024 and secured a ninth-place finish in Premier League 2 last season.

He follows in the footsteps of Ben Dawson and Graeme Carrick, who have recently progressed from roles with Newcastle United’s Academy to secure senior first team coaching positions.

Newcastle United Academy Director, Steve Harper, said: “I’d like to thank Diarmuid for his time with us leading the under-21 group.

“The opportunity to work in Europe is an exciting one for him and we wish him the best of luck as his coaching career continues.

“He is the third professional development phase coach to be headhunted from our Academy for a first team senior football role in the last 12 months, which demonstrates that our Academy development pathway works not just for players but for staff too.