Premier League comes calling for City starlet

Newcastle United are close to completing a deal to sign Coventry City's teenage midfielder Gael Bigirimana and take him to the North East as part of their development squad.

Bigirimana made a big impact at the beginning of last season after being thrust into the Sky Blues first team by Andy Thorn but the regular rough and tumble of Championship football gradually wore him down and his contribution to the team became much more limited after the first few months of the campaign.

'moot'

Whether he would have been a first team starter in the coming season is a moot point and, while the loss of an academy player is never good news, with an offer on the table from a top Premier League club his departure makes short term sense now that City are actually making signings of their own in the transfer market.

For Gael it looks like step backwards to hopefully take two forwards in his own career. Away from the environment he has known for some years and with the prospect of first team football at Newcastle some seasons away it will take plenty of resolve on his part to make a success of the move.

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