Newcastle United is set to finalise its second acquisition of 2025, with an official announcement anticipated later today.

The junior international from the Republic of Ireland underwent a trial period at Newcastle during the previous summer before subsequently entering into a permanent contract later in the year. However, United was unable to formalise the transfer until Fitzgerald celebrated his 18th birthday, which occurs today.

An undisclosed fee has been established in agreement with Galway.The youthful forward commenced his senior career with the League of Ireland club last year. He also participated in trials with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brighton & Hove Albion; however, he ultimately chose to relocate to the North East of England.

Newcastle’s academy boasts a significant representation of Irish talent, featuring individuals such as Alex Murphy, Cathal Heffernan, Reece Byrne, and Rory Finneran, the latter of whom joined from Blackburn Rovers in August of the previous year.In 2025, Fitzgerald becomes the second youngest player to join with the Magpies, following Georgian forward Vakhtang Salia.

In a manner akin to Fitzgerald, Salia will finalise his transfer from Dinamo Tbilisi upon reaching the age of 18 in August.Earlier this month, Salia was afforded the opportunity to tour Newcastle’s training facility, during which he engaged with prominent individuals, including head coach Eddie Howe, sporting director Paul Mitchell, and loan manager Shola Ameobi.

“We are engaged in comprehensive scouting efforts, both nationally and internationally, with the objective of identifying players who can progress through our talent development pathway and, ideally, integrate into the first team in the future.” “We anticipate a productive collaboration with Vakhtang and extend our best wishes for his continued success during his tenure at Dinamo Tbilisi.”