‘Hard working’ 20-year-old spotted in Newcastle first-team training ahead of Brentford

Add as preferred source on Google

While Newcastle United’s international players begin to return from representing their countries, Eddie Howe is putting the rest of the squad through their paces ahead of Brentford.

Big names like Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali have been away over the past week, while those not selected by their countries have been working hard back at Newcastle‘s training ground.

Howe is preparing the players for a huge game. The Magpies face Brentford on Saturday evening, as they aim to stop the rot and pick up a win after three defeats on the bounce.

That will be very tough up against a decent Brentford side, but the Toon boss will be confident that his squad has enough quality to beat the Bees.

However, with so many players away on international duty, Howe has been forced to call up some youngsters to senior training to help with the numbers – one of which has been Dylan Stephenson.

Dylan Stephenson in Newcastle training

The club have released 26 photos from Wednesday morning’s training session on their official website, one of which includes Stephenson.

In the background of picture number 24, the 20-year-old striker can be seen behind Anthony Gordon.

It is the first time in a while that Stephenson has been spotted at senior level, but he was part of the group late last year.

The forward travelled to Saudi Arabia last winter, and even scored in a friendly win over Al Hilal. He was praised by Howe after the game, who described Stephenson as ‘hard working‘.

Since then, Stephenson has been away on loan. He spent the second half of last season up in Scotland with Hamilton Academical. He made 12 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal and providing two assists.

Now he is back on Tyneside, and has been called up to senior training ahead of the Premier League clash with Brentford.

However, it will likely not lead to him making his competitive debut for the Magpies. His presence in training was probably to make up for strikers Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak not being involved, who have been away representing England and Sweden respectively.