If there is one slight positive to Newcastle United’s quite frankly ridiculous injury crisis, it is surely the chance it affords some of the young players.
Tino Livramento, after all, has starred in recent games – particularly when playing a variety of roles against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Ben Parkinson was also brought on at Bournemouth in another promising sign of Newcastle‘s future.
Then there’s Lewis Miley.
Hailed as a “baller” by Bruno Guimaraes during the pre-season tour of America, the 17-year-old started during the loss on the south coast on Saturday.
Having also played against Dortmund in the week, the teenager is clearly trusted, albeit the sheer number of absences have surely forced Eddie Howe’s hand somewhat.
Still, even despite the result, Howe was impressed. The Toon boss believes the midfielder “did really well” and “handled the situation superbly.”
Indeed, Howe wasn’t the only one who praised the teenager.
Lewis Miley: Paul Dummett makes prediction on Newcastle midfielder
Paul Dummett, an academy graduate himself, predicted that it was simply the beginning of many more starts for his young teammate.
After the game, Miley took to Instagram to caption a collage of himself in action: “Not the result we wanted, but another proud moment for me and my family making my first start in the Premier League!”
Dummett responded: “Just the start” with an accompanying hand clapping emoji.
Lewis Miley: How well did Newcastle midfielder play against Bournemouth?
It certainly wasn’t an easy game to make your first League start in.
Still, the stats would suggest Miley performed well.
According to WhoScored data, the teenager led the way in the Newcastle ranks for interceptions (2) and finished behind only the experienced Fabian Schar for clearances (3).
In fact, no one who started the game for Howe’s side boasted a better passing success rate (88.1%) and Miley also found the mark with two of his three attempted long balls.
Certainly, there is reason to get excited.
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