Reece Byrne, an Ireland youth international, posed for photos at St James’ Park to commemorate his signing by Newcastle United, who will soon make the official announcement. Byrne flew to Newcastle to sign his contract before the transfer market even opened. The Magpies have not yet officially announced the shot-stopper’s departure from Bohemians. That is not unusual, though. It’s possible that the club’s academy intake may be revealed all at once, as it was in the past. For example, fellow countryman Cathal Heffernan was at St James’ last week for his own photograph.
Reece Byrne set to become new goalie of Newcastle United
Byrne has had the opportunity to tour the stadium. He also his shirt hanging in the locker room of the first team. When the 18-year-old put on the goalkeeping jersey with “Byrne 1” on the back and the Premier League insignia on the sleeve for his unveiling photos, his parents were by his side. Byrne, who is described as a “giant” with “high potential” by Ireland under-21 manager and former Newcastle midfielder Jim Crawford, will have felt pleased of himself at the time.
Regarding the under-19 international, Crawford spoke to ChronicleLive saying
“I’ve known Reece for a long time. I’ve seen him come up through St Joseph’s Boys over here in Dublin when he was playing schoolboy football”
He further added
“He’s been a sought-after goalkeeper so it’s been a good bit of business that Newcastle have done to get him on board. Like all young players, he’s got a lot of work to do on different areas of his game, but I’m sure there is a competent coaching staff at Newcastle that will identify his strengths and improvement areas that will help him reach his ceiling.”
Following Alex Murphy’s arrival from Galway United last summer, Byrne and Heffernan are the most recent Irish youths to sign with the club. Due to the Common Travel Area agreement, Irish prospects who turn 18 do not require a work visa like those from other EU countries do.
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