Newcastle United sign Serbian defender Miodrag Pivaš

Newcastle United have completed the signing of promising Serbian defender Miodrag Pivaš.

The 19-year-old is joining the Magpies from the Serbian team FK Jedinstvo Ub, and has represented his native country at under-17 level.

During last season’s campaign, the defender played in a defensive midfield position, in which Jedinstvo finished as runners-up in the second tier and clinched promotion to the Serbian Super Liga.

Born in Novi Sad, north west of Serbian capital Belgrade, Pivaš began his career with Austrian regional sides UFC Siezenheim and SV Grödig before returning to his native country with Jedinstvo in 2023.

Miodrag Pivaš said: “It’s absolutely unbelievable to join such a big club like Newcastle United and I cannot wait to get started.

“I see the project of the club and it looks great which helped convince me to sign for Newcastle.

He continued: “I see the young players have developed very well here and I would like to do the same – to develop and get into Newcastle’s first team. I’m very excited and I can’t wait to begin.”

Darren Eales, CEO at Newcastle United, said: “Miodrag is a promising talent with high potential. Our recruitment network is continuing to watch young players like Miodrag around the world with a view to identifying and developing them into first team players of the future.

“We are pleased to welcome him to Newcastle United and we look forward to supporting his development at this important stage of his career.”