5 Newcastle youngsters who will be looking to impress Eddie Howe in pre-season
North East England has traditionally been a hotbed for young football talent: Shearer, Carrick, Beardsley, Gascoigne, Jack & Bobby Charlton, Pickford, Waddle, Henderson, Woodgate, Bryan Robson, Bobby Robson, Paisley, Revie, Clough…
Today, that pool seems to be running a little drier than usual. South London, Manchester, and Liverpool seem to be producing wonderkid after wonderkid, and the region is lacking a little these days.
Instead, we’re focusing on five youth talents in Newcastle United’s ranks who have a real chance of doing a Lewis Miley and turning Eddie Howe’s gaze toward them in the upcoming pre-season. Keep an eye out for these lads in 2024-25.
Joe White
White featured fairly regularly toward the end of the 2023-24 season. The 21-year-old was propelled into the action due to the midfield vacuum created by injuries to Joelinton, Joe Willock, Lewis Miley, and Sandro Tonali’s suspension.
The young attacking midfielder did well without setting the world on fire and, at 21, this pre-season is probably his last chance to make an impression on Howe before he’s loaned out or sold on.
Trevan Sanusi
After joining the Magpies from Birmingham City’s youth ranks on 1st September 2023, Sanusi racked up 22 appearances for the under-18s, playing mainly off the left wing, and has been part of the England under-17s set up this season.
He only turned 17 in April, but, as Lewis Miley has shown, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough for this Newcastle side, and Sanusi has been stirring up a bit of excitement among the more clued-up fans.
Alex Murphy
Dan Burn isn’t the only big tall left-back on Newcastle’s books. Murphy signed for the Toon from Galway United in July 2022, and has just put pen to paper on his first professional contract with the Geordies.
He’s a 6’1″ 20-year-old who can play left-back or centre-back and, like Joe White, was thrust into deputising for his fallen comrades at the back end of 2023-24, doing so fairly seamlessly.
There’s an opportunity for Murphy here, as Dan Burn has been playing (out of necessity) in his natural centre-back position recently, and Matty Targett has suffered with injuries.
That leaves Lewis Hall—who you’d expect to be first choice left-back now—or an inverted Tino Livramento / Kieran Trippier.
If Murphy can impress in pre-season, he might just land himself a regular spot on the first-team bench and more game time, depending on injuries.
Garang Kuol
Garang Kuol has a point to prove. The winger was born in an Egyptian refugee camp, in Cairo, to South Sudanese parents, before the family moved to Australia when Kuol was just a baby.
After making a name for himself in Oz, Kuol came to Tyneside with a big reputation, like an antipodean Freddy Adu.
He’d performed well for the Socceroos at the World Cup in 2022, and plenty of Geordies were rightly excited about what they were getting.
However, loan moves to Hearts in the Scottish Premiership and FC Volendam in the Eredivisie proved difficult, and the 19-year-old has been short of game time.
Volendam were relegated at the end of the 2023-24 season, with Garang making just 16 appearances and scoring one goal. Pre-season is a chance for the Aussie forward to prove his mettle, although you’d expect another loan move is in the offing.
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Alfie Harrison
Harrison might just be the one. Signed from Manchester City’s youth academy in February, absolutely caked in hype, and the 18-year-old has very much lived up to it so far.
He’s got hair like Erling Haaland but he plays in central midfield, and has 26 goal involvements in 32 under-18 Premier League games (17 goals and 9 assists).
If you were asking us to pick one nailed-on future superstar from Newcastle’s youth ranks—Lewis Miley aside—Alfie Harrison is the one.
You heard it here first. Remember the name.