'Best of luck' - Defender issues farewell message after joining Newcastle United

General view inside St James' Park. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)General view inside St James' Park. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
General view inside St James' Park. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In a world of Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), the academy set up at football clubs has never been more important.

Whether that be unearthing the ‘next big thing’ to save you millions in the transfer window or selling players for “pure profit” as a way of maximising spending power, the emphasis, quite simply, is massive.

And since the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia became owners of Newcastle United three years ago, the club’s academy has undergone massive changes, and that is still ongoing to this day.

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Beefing up the staff count has allowed the Magpies to not only scout the North East for talent but across the country too.

And one of the latest additions is understood to be 14-year-old Lesecond Yeutembip from Charlton Athletic. The defender travelled to Japan with the Magpies’ academy in August as part of the club’s participation in the J-League International Series 2024.

While Eddie Howe’s first-team faced Urawa Red Diamonds and Yokohama F.Marinos, the under-15s played a J-League representative team, which ended in a 7-3 defeat.

Yeutembip, however, only official confirmed his departure from Charlton last week when he wrote: “After seven amazing years at Charlton Athletic, I can now share that I’ve left the club. I want to express my gratitude to my teammates and the incredible staff at Charlton Athletic for all the support and opportunities they’ve provided me on my journey. This isn’t the end! Best of luck, you Addicks!”

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Newcastle have also signed under-15s midfielder Jayden Kouossu after he too announced his departure from West Bromwich Albion last week. Born in Milan before moving to England at an early age, it’s understood Kouossu trialled at Fulham and Chelsea before agreeing to join United.

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