Newcastle United
Newcastle United call up 17-year-old to squad for the Premier League clash against Brentford.
Eddie Howe has named an unchanged Newcastle United starting XI for this evening’s Premier League clash against Brentford.
The Magpies return to competitive action for the first time since winning the Carabao Cup with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Wembley 17 days ago. United have spent the last fortnight celebrating ending their 70-year trophy drought but it’s back to business.
Newcastle sit a point outside the Champions League places with a game in hand on Manchester City and Chelsea above them. They face a Brentford side sitting 11th in the Premier League but have won each of their last five away matches.
Newcastle United call up 17-year-old for the first time
With Matt Targett not involved, 17-year-old Leo Shahar has been called up to the bench.
Since joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers 18 months ago, the 17-year-old has established himself as a regular in the under-21s side, even captaining the team earlier in the season. Shahar has also represented England at under-17s and under-18s since moving to Tyneside.
“Signing my first professional contract is everything I have dreamt of since I was a kid,” Shahar said last May. “To get that opportunity at such a big club like Newcastle United is outstanding and I’m hoping to keep pushing on.
“I’ve been getting great opportunities with the under-21s this season as well as playing in the UEFA Youth League and representing England (at under-17 level) so I thought that was such a big reason in wanting to commit my future here.
“Seeing the likes of [Kieran] Trippier and [Tino] Livramento playing well for the first-team makes me want to thrive and try to get into a similar position that they are in. The fans love those two and I want to push on to try and get into that spot. I’m going to work as hard as I can everyday on the training pitch to get to that spot.”