Newcastle United are closing in on a move for Kilmarnock youngster Charlie McArthur as the Magpies' academy overhaul continues.
ChronicleLive understands McArthur and his camp were due to discuss personal terms with Newcastle last Thursday after a six-figure fee was agreed between the two clubs. No issues were anticipated and the centre-back now looks set to link up with the under-23s next month.
McArthur has already made four appearances for Kilmarnock's first team and was captain of the Scotland side who competed at the UEFA European under-17 championships last month. Clearly, just like with the first team, Newcastle have been able to attract a different profile of player at academy level this summer after the club's takeover was completed last year.
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Newcastle have already sealed a deal for defender Alex Murphy who, like McArthur, already had experience of men's football at Galway United and also attracted interest from a number of clubs across the UK. However, again, it was Newcastle who won the race to sign the Ireland under-19 international.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Newcastle would have struggled to sign McArthur and Murphy a year ago when selling a bright long-term vision to these highly-rated youngsters was more difficult in the Ashley era - and that is before you even take into account their fees. Steve Harper effectively hinted as much when the academy manager said last month that Murphy's arrival was 'testament to the direction the club is going in under our owners'.
For all the money the owners will spend on first-team stars in the years to come, the hierarchy want to create a sustainable club and the academy will be at the heart of the long-term plan that sporting director Dan Ashworth will help to oversee. Ashworth has already sat down with Harper and, having fulfilled every role in youth development, the 51-year-old will be a big help to the academy chief as someone who would rather look internally than relying on the transfer market every time.
Harper has already made some welcome changes to the academy and the support eight members of the reserve team squad received after being released last month did not go unnoticed. Unlike in years gone by, Tom Allan, Ryan Barrett, Brad Cross, Oisin McEntee, Mo Sangare, Reagan Thomson, Jake Turner and Adam Wilson's association with the club did not end when they were let go by the academy manager. All the players were offered additional help, whether it was further phone calls from Harper in the days after; access to the club psychologist; or assistance putting together clips to send to clubs to secure trials or moves.
Harper, like first-team head coach Eddie Howe, has been keen to bring in good characters as well as good players, which was the mantra of his former manager, Sir Bobby Robson. It would be a surprise if Sir Bobby's words did not come up when Harper hosted former team-mate Nikos Dabizas at the academy a couple of months ago.
Rather than just being a given a tour of the facility, and looking back on their time together over lunch, ChronicleLive understands Dabizas and Harper exchanged views as the Greek gave an insight into his own experience with youth development during his spell as a sporting director at Panathinaikos and Omonia Lefkosia.
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