It's a case of one Irish youngster in and one out at St James' Park this week as Galway United confirmed that Alex Murphy will join Newcastle while the Premier League club saw Oisin McEntee leave for Walsall.

Galway reached a pre-contract agreement with Newcastle for the transfer of defender Murphy for an undisclosed fee, the club said in a statement.

The 17-year-old will remain with Galway United until July. He has made 26 senior appearances for the club, scoring two goals.

Murphy has also been capped at underage for Ireland, making several appearances in 2021, including captaining and scoring for the U18s and helping Ireland secure a 7-1 win over Malta.

"I'm buzzing to join such a big club," Murphy said. "I'd like to thank everyone who has helped me get to this stage, especially all my coaches at Corrib Celtic, Galway FA and Galway United."

Meanwhile, McEntee, also a defender, has made a permanent switch to League Two Walsall.

The 21-year-old Cavan native spent last season on loan at Scottish Championship outfit Greenock Morton.

Meanwhile, there have been four fixtures in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division postponed due to international call-ups.

Drogheda United v UCD AFC, Shelbourne v Derry City and St. Patrick's Athletic v Shamrock Rovers, all scheduled for Friday, June 10, have been postponed as well as Sligo Rovers v Dundalk, which was scheduled for Saturday, June 11.

New dates and kick-off times will be confirmed in due course.