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Newcastle United youngster Travis Hernes admitted the transition to senior football has been “tough” at AaB Aalborg.
A promising, combative midfielder, the 19-year-old joined the Magpies from Shrewsbury Town in 2023. Efforts have been made since the Saudi-backed takeover to bolster Newcastle’s youth setup.
Hernes starred for Diarmuid O'Carroll’s under-21 side this season but a decision was made to let him leave on loan. Newcastle agreed a deal with Danish club AaB until the end of the campaign.
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This gave Hernes the chance to sink his teeth into senior football, with the Reds sitting ninth in Denmark’s top flight. The prospect has been thrown straight into the deep end, losing three and drawing one of his four games at the club.
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A big summer awaits as impressing at AaB could become the springboard for a successful Toon career - or loan move to a more prestigious club. Speaking to Campo, the Jamaican-born star opened up about his first taste of senior football.
“It has been a tough but good transition to senior football,” Hernes said. “The Superliga is very different from academy football. It’s much more physical, and the players are much stronger and everything goes much faster.
“I was prepared for there to be a difference, but I’ll say that I was surprised by the pace of the game. But when I have teammates who help me and are used to the pace, you quickly get into the rhythm.”
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Hernes came within a whisker of Newcastle first-team action in the FA Cup last season. Eddie Howe named the midfielder on the bench for the 1-0 win at Fulham - a moment he will use as motivation.
"It’s crazy," Hernes told TV2. "You hear nothing, and you can’t do anything but look around and try to take it in. It’s like what you dream about when you’re little.
"When I was called up for first-team training, it was crazy to think that I’ve played with all these guys here on FIFA and they just have no idea who I am.
“There are players you see on TV and think ‘Wow, they are good’. So, when you sit on the bench, all you want is to just experience what it’s like to be on the pitch in a Premier League match. It doesn’t feel real when you’re in the dressing room with Champions League footballers, sort of. But you just have to get used to it.
“When you train with the team every day and you’re taken out on the bench, it shows you’re doing something right. I have to continue to do my best and show that I deserve that place in the squad."