Newcastle beat Man Utd, Aston Villa, Wolves to sign Nigerian midfielder on schoolboy contract 

Newcastle have pulled off a massive transfer coup with the imminent capture of promising box-to-box Nigerian midfielder Chukwudi 'CJ' Afumuzor, allnigeriasoccer.com can confirm. 

NUFCBlog broke the news this week that the Magpies have seen off interest from multiple Premier League clubs to land the much-coveted Portsmouth youth teamer. 

Allnigeriasoccer.com understands that Afumuzor was monitored heavily by Manchester United and there was also concrete interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers. 

Aston Villa explored the possibility of signing the 14-year-old but decided against making an official bid to Portsmouth. 

After passing his medical examination with flying colors, Afumuzor has agreed a two-year schoolboy contract with Newcastle United, and it is expected that he will sign a two-year scholarship deal once his schoolboy registration ends. 

Newcastle United won the race for his services because they were the most forthcoming, setting out a clear plan and showing CJ how valued he is. 

Portsmouth were forced to part company with Afumuzor as the bid from Newcastle United was too good to turn down, in addition to the fact that they are a selling club. 

Pompey's model is to produce outstanding academy players and move them on early for big profits, and apart from Afumuzor, they have also sold another academy player Xander Greaves to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Afumuzor has been described as a box-to-box midfielder who contributes both defensively and offensively, and has been likened to Nigeria international Fisayo Dele-Bashiru due to his playing style. 

In the 2023-2024 campaign, he scored 20 plus goals for Portsmouth U14, U15 and U16 teams. 

Afumuzor, who was at Portsmouth for eight years, has expressed his willingness to be selected for the Future Eagles if approached by the Nigeria Football Federation.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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