Newcastle United have agreed a deal to sign Jude Smith from Scottish side East Fife. The goalkeeper, 19, impressed the Magpies during a trial on Tyneside last month.
Newcastle will pay a small fee for the teenage shot-stopper, who also trained with Stoke City earlier this summer. Smith joined Celtic as a youngster before being released by the Scottish giants last summer.
He was snapped up by East Fife and made 25 league appearances as the club were relegated from the Scottish League One. Despite the team's poor performance, Smith picked up East Fife Supporters’ Club young player and players’ player of the year, and the East Fife Supporters’ Trust player of the year.
Smith's move follows a busy summer of transfer business when it comes to the youth department. Newcastle chiefs have put added emphasis on signing top young players, as well as first-team talent.
Charlie McArthur, Alex Murphy and Jordan Hackett have all been snapped up in recent weeks to bolster Elliott Dickman's Under-23 squad. Smith is expected to link up with that group once his transfer is finalised.
In terms of senior goalkeepers, Eddie Howe currently has four in and around his first-team squad. Nick Pope's arrival means Martin Dubravka may leave before the end of the summer window.
Karl Darlow's game time will also be severely limited and Mark Gillespie didn't play a single minute during pre-season. Howe admitted last weekend that one of his senior goalkeepers may make way in the coming weeks.
“It’s too early to say,” Howe said when asked about the goalkeeping situation. “I don’t know. Certainly, I wouldn’t want anyone to leave but I’m well aware four is a difficult number to carry.
“My wish would be to do that but obviously I’ve got to think of the players as well. Hopefully we’ll make the right decision.”
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