Premier League club Newcastle United has announced the signing of young Serbian centre-back Miodrag Pivas from FK Jedinstvo Ub. The 19-year-old, who has represented Serbia at the under-17 level, is known for his versatility, allowing him to move from a defensive spot to a defensive midfield position.

Last season, Pivas played an instrumental role in helping Jedinstvo earn promotion to the Serbian Super Liga, finishing as runners-up in the second tier. Expressing his excitement at joining Newcastle, Pivas told newcastleunited.com, ‘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.’

Pivas also spoke about his aspirations, saying, ‘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.’ Highlighting his strengths, Pivas added, ‘My best strengths are my pace, being a centre-back, as well as my heading and passing ability.’

At 19, Pivas is keen to break into Newcastle United’s first team and display his potential. ‘I want to start playing for the first team as soon as possible and show what I can do. I’ve watched a lot of Newcastle’s games, they are playing very well and I believe I can play at that level,’ he said.

Reflecting on his achievements, Pivas shared, ‘I won promotion last season, and it was amazing, getting to the top tier in Serbia. It was an incredible feeling, and I learnt a lot playing as a centre-back because of my manager (Ivan Radovanovic), who played in Serie A for 15 years and was quite important to me.’

Darren Eales, CEO of Newcastle United, expressed his confidence in Pivas’s potential, stating, ‘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.’

(With inputs from agencies.)