I watched Newcastle’s recent FA youth cup win vs Brighton and I was extremely impressed by a few of our young players, who shone in a 2-1 win over the Seagulls.
In this piece, I am going to speak about four in particular; Michael Mills, Sam Alabi, Rory Finneran and Leo Shahar.
Leo Shahar (right-back)
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Leo Shahar had a great game; in my opinion it was the best game I have seen of his since arriving from Wolves last summer.
Leo is the player I have seen the most out of our Academy prospects, with him featuring in many England u17/u18 games which have been televised.
Shahar is a 17 year old right back who was the captain on Monday night. His main strengths are his on the ball qualities; he is very comfortable under pressure and can operate in all phases of play. The more I watch, his maturity on the ball has improved massively. I think he is also a great crosser of the ball.
I have seen him play multiple different roles – for Newcastle I have mainly seen him play as a wing back but for England he has been tasked to form a back three in possession. This shows that he has a lot of tactical variety, and this could be handy, especially when Krafth leaves. I really believe Shahar could have a bright future with Newcastle.
Michael Mills (winger)
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The next player who really impressed me was Michael Mills, who is a 15 year old winger we signed from Port Vale last summer for a reported £200,000.
It was my first time watching Mills against Brighton and he impressed, not only showing skill, creativity and physicality, but final product too as he finished emphatically after breaking through on goal.
Playing off the left, he showed off his great technical qualities; he has a lovely burst of pace, looked great in 1v1’s and offered a really dangerous outlet.
This lad could have a really bright future, and I understand why the club committed so much money to bring him in.
Rory Finneran (midfielder)
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The third player who impressed me was Rory Finneran, who was signed from Blackburn in the summer after becoming the youngest player to ever play for them.
He is a hugely exciting player. Against Brighton he played as the holding midfielder in a 4-3-3. The Irishman was tasked with progressing the ball centrally and being the heartbeat of the side in the first two phases of play. He impressed me with his passing ability and wasn’t afraid to turn and face play.
Technically an impressive player with some nice physical attributes as well, reminding me of Palace’s Adam Wharton. He is someone who I desperately want to see more of, especially in tight spaces and whether he can play out of a more intense press.
Sam Alabi (midfielder)
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The fourth player is Sam Alabi, who featured off the bench and impressed once again.
The 15 year old central midfielder is another player who has featured on the international stage for England’s u16.
This again was my first time watching Sam play so I can’t go into too much detail, but he showed that he is comfortable receiving under pressure and protects the ball well with his tall frame and physically he looks very impressive for his age.
On the ball he recycled it well and showed some bright signs on the ball. Off the ball he often looked for space to receive the ball and had a great understanding of space.
One to keep an eye on, with his unique blend of height, skill and quick feet earning early comparisons to Paul Pogba.
Positive signs for Newcastle’s Academy
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These four lads are just a small example of the huge influx of talent into our academy. There is still a long way to go until we reach the levels of Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool etc but we are moving in the right direction.
I just want to list a few other players who you should keep your eye on, Travis Hernes, Sean Neave, Cathal Heffernan and Alfie Harrison.
Thank you for reading, enjoy the rest of your week and have a great Christmas!