Newcastle United are the frontrunners to sign Irish League youngster Corey Smith, according to BelfastLive.
The report claims that both ourselves and Wolves have made ‘early moves’ for the 18-year-old who only recently signed a new contract with Dungannon Swifts after making nine first-team appearances.
After appearing mostly for the Under-20s, the winger broke into the first team after being described as ‘unplayable’ by boss Dean Shiels and his performances have attracted a lot of interest from Premier League clubs.
This would not be our first foray into the Irish market – defender Alex Murphy signed from Galway last summer while more recently goalkeeper Reece Byrne was confirmed to have joined from Bohemians.
It seems to be an area that we have done a lot of scouting in since the arrival of Dan Ashworth who played a huge part in the transfer of Evan Ferguson to Brighton.
Speaking to Dungannon’s YouTube channel, Shiels had this to say on Smith:
“I think Corey is one of a number of talented players at the club that we’re delighted to tie down. He deserves his new contract.
“He has sometimes been unplayable in the Under 20 games this season. He has got that talent where he can go one vs one. We want wide players to attack and score goals, and he is exactly the type of player we’re delighted to have at the club.
“As you saw against Glenavon, coming on and scoring. He is going to be a big player for this club going forward.”
If they are looking for young talent over the irish sea Sean Moore of Cliftonville is a star in the making, been to seen him a few times this year and he has some potential.
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