Newcastle United have some promising young players in their academy.
While Newcastle United’s academy hasn’t always been the most profitable for the first-team over the years, that’s changing now.
Graduates Andy Caroll (albeit he left and came back to St James’ Park) and Paul Dummett have departed the club in recent years but Sean Longstaff remains.
Longstaff is expected to leave Newcastle this summer but there is also a younger generation emerging.
Lewis Miley is part of the Newcastle first-team squad, while two players currently in the Newcastle United academy have been training with Eddie Howe’s senior side of late.
Sean Neave and Leo Shahar have trained with the Newcastle squad, so naturally supporters are excited about them.
Still, there’s another player in the U21 ranks who looks equally as interesting.
Alfie Harrison records seventh assist of the season for Newcastle U21s
It will be fascinating to see how midfielder Alfie Harrison develops.
Harrison joined Newcastle from Manchester City in 2024 but is yet to make a first-team appearance.
Still, the 19-year-old is certainly impressing in Premier League 2 competition.
During Monday night’s 7-1 win over Reading, Harrison both scored and assisted. Interestingly the assist took him up to seven for the season, which makes him the joint-highest on that front in the entire division.
At some point, Newcastle will have to try him out at elite level, with the youngster also having scored three times in only 13 starts.
The stakes are obviously high between now and the end of the campaign so the thought of seeing an untested teenager suddenly emerge in the first-team feels unlikely, though Harrison is surely doing enough to put himself in with a chance of featuring during pre-season.
| Starts | Goals | Assists |
| 13 | 3 | 7 |
Newcastle United will need young players to step up
Miley shone during what was a breakout campaign last year, stepping up to cover during an injury crisis while really staking his claim.
While the competition remains unclear, Howe’s team will be playing European football in at least some capacity next season.
Newcastle qualified for the Conference League by winning the Carabao Cup, so regardless of what happens from here, there will be an added strain on the squad next time out.
With that in mind, players like Harrison should be handed a chance to prove they can step into the fray. It could save the club and owners PIF millions on potential new signings.
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