Newcastle could be about to miss out on the signing of Hartlepool youth striker Luke Chapman, a report from TeamTalk has claimed.
The Magpies were one of several clubs, along with newly-promoted Premier League rivals Leeds and Championship outfit Middlesbrough, who had been linked with a move for Chapman earlier this summer.
With Hartlepool closing their academy ahead of a reassessment of their youth operations this summer, Chapman was one of a number of players who found themselves without a club, although it seems that hasn’t been the case for the young attacker for too long.
According to the latest reports, Chapman is close to signing for Sunderland, meaning the Magpies look as though they are about to miss out on the striker.
It is thought that Chapman has linked up with the Black Cats for pre-season training, with the view to securing a longer-term deal at The Stadium of Light.
While this may be slightly disappointing for Newcastle, this isn’t really the worst news in the world for them.
Although they probably do need to add a goalscorer to their side given their record in front of goal, you feel that this would have been way too big a step up for Chapman to be the one to fill that role.
Indeed, with that in mind, you could argue that this is a better move for Chapman in reality, given he has a better chance of getting some first-team football this season with a League One club such as Sunderland, than he might do further up the football pyramid.