Sean Neave stole the headlines as Newcastle United’s Under-18s beat Leeds United on Saturday afternoon.
The 17-year-old centre-forward scored a hat-trick as Newcastle United’s academy stars won 5-4 in a blockbuster Under-18s match.
Newcastle United’s senior team have hugely struggled for goals this season with Eddie Howe‘s side only scoring eight goals in eight Premier League matches so far.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 12 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 12 |
The Under-18s are showing them how it is done. They have scored 15 goals in eight games so far this season and sit eighth in the English U-18 Premier League.
The youngsters looking to break into the first team sent an emphatic message to Howe on Saturday after putting five past Leeds, and youngster Sean Neave was at centre stage.
Sean Neave scores hattrick for Newcastle Under-18s
Neave, born in 2007, has been going from strength to strength in Newcastle’s academy.
He scored 13 goals across all competitions for United’s under-18 side last term and stepped up to make his Under-21s debut in an EFL Trophy match.
Neave is on track to beat his scoring record this season having already scored seven goals in five appearances.
He has already scored one hattrick earlier this season in a 3-3 draw with Derby County’s Under-18s, and he added another match ball to his collection against Leeds United this weekend.
Newcastle’s Under-18s took an early two-goal lead on Saturday with Joe Brayson and Logan Watts on the scoresheet. Freddie Lane scored for Leeds to halve the deficit but Neave then scored twice in three minutes to put Newcastle 4-1 up.
Leeds rallied at half-time and brought the game back to 4-4 but Neave completed his hattrick and netted the winning goal in the 85th minute to round off the nine-goal thriller.
Newcastle United’s academy progress under PIF
Neave only joined Newcastle’s academy in 2023 and already he looks set to be a future star at St James’ Park.
He is the latest example of Newcastle’s academy progress since the PIF takeover in 2021.
Newcastle’s new owners have invested millions into the club’s youth facilities which were neglected by Mike Ashley.
READ MORE: Jamie Carragher now says Newcastle made a big transfer mistake over ‘little superstar’
The club are now starting to see the results of their youth investment with three academy gems on the brink of a breakthrough.
Howe recently praised two ‘elite’ players produced by Newcastle, but it seems plenty more are on the way in years to come.
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