OPINION
Newcastle United could pull off a blinder if they win the race to sign Irish sensation Gavin Bazunu.
The Chronicle claim the Magpies are fighting a host of clubs, including Champions League duo Liverpool and Celtic, for the signature of the wonderkid goalkeeper.
It is said Newcastle have sent scouts to watch the Shamrock Rovers number one, who is making the big clubs sit up and take notice of his astonishingly precocious performances.
He kept four straight clean sheets in his first four games as a senior player and went a remarkable 434 minutes before conceding a goal – which came in the Europa League against Swedish side AIK.
Naturally, such numbers are hugely reliant upon the players in front of Bazunu but, equally, they are not normal ones for a goalkeeper of such tender years.
Shamrock know they have an unusually gifted player on their hands.
“Obviously, there is going to be a lot of talk,” said manager Stephen Bradley to the Chronicle. “Everyone is looking at him and rightly so, because he is special.
“He is 16 years of age and he is nowhere near his maturity physically, you can see that. When all that comes and he puts the size on and the strength on, it’s going to be scary what he can do.
“I think there is more to go. You can see it in him, there is more size to be put on as well.”
Bazunu has already undergone a Celtic trial and the player may feel some debt to the Scottish club, given that they are paying for his school fees.
Intriguingly, Shamrock have just signed a new keeper after Alan Mannus transferred from St Johnstone, but Bazunu has kept the older man out of the starting XI.
Newcastle have a fine senior keeper in Martin Dubravka and some very able deputies.
But Bazunu is not about the here and now as far as Newcastle are concerned. He could be a superb signing for the future if they were able to persuade him his future would be better served in the north-east rather than Liverpool and company.
Certainly, the Magpies are keen to strengthen their age-group sides, which have been neglected in recent years during the cost-cutting Mike Ashley era.