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Newcastle United sporting director Paul Mitchell has expressed his delight at being able to have beaten a number of other clubs to secure the signature of teenager attacker Vakhtang Salia.
The Magpies completed a deal on Tuesday to sign the 17-year-old Georgian forward from Dinamo Tbilisi
The player is not set to leave Dinamo Tbilisi immediately though and will stay there until next August before teaming up with the Tyneside club.
A number of clubs were in for the 17-year-old, but Newcastle United beat them to his signature, much to the delight of their sporting director.
“We’re delighted to get ahead of a number of other top clubs to sign Vakhtang”, Mitchell told his club’s official website.
Mitchell also took time to stress on the importance of scouting and recruiting emerging talents given the current situation with strict PSR rules.
“We continue to scout extensively, both domestically and overseas, with a view to securing players who can come through our talent pathway and, ideally, become part of the first team in future.”
The 43-year-old went on to wish Salia the best of luck for his remaining time with the Georgian club.
“We look forward to working with Vakhtang and wish him every success during his remaining time with Dinamo Tbilisi.”
Despite being just 17, Salia has played in the Europa Conference League qualifiers and has 24 league appearances for Dinamo Tbilisi in which he has made seven goal contributions.
