While the senior team was out playing Spurs in South Korea, Newcastle United’s under-21s were also in action on Sunday afternoon.
The Young Mags took on South Shields in a friendly at the 1st Cloud Arena as they build up to their upcoming Premier League 2 campaign.
It was a convincing 5-0 win against the National League North side, with a Kacey Wooster brace on his U21 debut one of the standouts as Joe Brayson, fresh from his first pro contract, Turkish recruit Baran Yildiz and exciting winger Trevan Sanusi also found the net.
However, another intriguing name to feature for Newcastle’s second string was 17-year-old Raymond Offor, who shone with his impressive mix of power, pace and physicality.
The club have confirmed in a match report that a ‘trialist’ started the game, and the player in question was the 6ft 5′ Irishman, who played alongside former AC Milan youngster Cathal Heffernan and Scottish talent Charlie McArthur.
Offor is currently on trial with the under-21s and pushing to land a contract within the Academy, who have just won the race to sign Muawiya Ghanem, as NUFCBlog revealed yesterday.
The towering defender, who can also operate as a holding midfielder, currently plays for Irish Premier Division side Shelbourne and will be familiar with a few in Newcastle’s ranks, with Rory Finneran and ex-Galway talent Kyle Fitzgerald also Irish youth internationals.
After arriving at Shelbourne from Bohemians in 2023, Offor was actually handed his debut by former Newcastle United winger Damien Duff, who only left his role as Shelbourne manager in late June.
Offor is eligible to also play for Nigeria, due to his father, and has previously been on trial with Brighton earlier this year.
Following his impressive performance in today’s 5-0 win, potential and the growing recruitment link between Newcastle’s Academy and emerging Irish talent, we expect Offor to sign at Newcastle over the coming weeks.
Certainly, a clean sheet and solid display today will do the 17-year-old’s hopes of staying no harm.
Newcastle XI and substitutes vs South Shields: Aidan Harris, Leo Shahar, Raymond Offor (Logan Watts 76), Cathal Heffernan (Ciaran Thompson 59), Charlie McArthur, Dylan Charlton (Thomas Bryant 59), Fraser Harper (Baran Yildiz 59), Scott Bailey, Trevan Sanusi, Garang Kuol (Kyle Fitzgerald 46), Joe Brayson (Kacey Wooster 46).
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