Report: Newcastle move to fend off interest from Bundesliga for 16-year-old Blackburn midfielder

Newcastle United have their eye on Blackburn Rovers academy product Rory Finneran who has also attracted interest from Germany.

The Telegraph claims that several Bundesliga clubs had scouts watching over Rory Finneran while the youngster was away on international duty this week, but also say that Newcastle are keen to bring the Irish U17 star to St James' Park.

Newcastle were said to be readying a 'formal approach' for Finneran in January but it never seemed to go anywhere, but now it seems like they could be willing to try again in the summer.

Finneran is yet to sign a professional contract with Blackburn which has put other clubs on high alert.

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Finneran made his debut for Blackburn in the FA Cup this season

Newcastle had a clear focus on bringing in young talent and growing them into stars under Dan Ashworth but now with Judas Ashworth heading to Manchester United it remains to be seen what direction his successor, whomever it may be, takes, but it looks like for now at least, Newcastle will be following that same plan.

Finneran has yet to make his Championship debut for Blackburn but he did appear for Rovers in the FA Cup in their win over Cambridge in the third round on their way to getting knocked out by *checks notes* ah, yes, Newcastle. Given that they took us to penalties, that really was a poor brag.

Meanwhile, the interest from Germany is a potential problem for Newcastle as we've seen young players move to the Bundesliga and develop into top players, particularly Jude Bellingham and of course Jadon Sancho before he moved to Manchester United and ruined everything and had to start again.

Newcastle have been keeping tabs on a few Blackburn players of late

Finneran plays as a defensive midfielder, which is a position Newcastle could do with, although the 16-year-old would be unlikely to be earmarked for first-team duties for a while and would be part of the academy alongside the likes of Alfie Harrison who joined in January.

Newcastle were eyeing another Blackburn academy product last year in Adam Wharton who ended up moving to Crystal Palace, while the Magpies also had an eye on defender Hayden Carter who is still at Ewood Park.

It's going to be interesting to see if Finneran gets himself more first-team opportunities this season in an attempt to convince him to stay on at Ewood Park rather than moving on to be part of another academy.