At the age of 18-years-old, Leo Shahar was on the bench for the first time in his Newcastle United career against Brentford.
Eddie Howe has had to turn to youth in recent weeks, with Sean Neave becoming part of the matchday squad.
The forward was on the bench at Wembley, with Neave getting a Carabao Cup medal despite not even making his debut for the club.
The 17-year-old was on the bench again as Newcastle beat Brentford on Wednesday night, and he was joined by Leo Shahar.
Photo by Harriet Massey/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Photo by Harriet Massey/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Eddie Howe explains why Leo Shahar was on the bench for Newcastle vs Brentford
Ahead of facing Brentford, Shahar trained with the first-team. However, supporters were not expecting him to be involved.
It was a surprise to see Shahar named as a substitute, with the teenage right-back taking Matt Targett’s place.
After the game, Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe admitted to the club’s official website that Targett had missed the game due to illness.
“We’ve got a few niggles in the camp,” he said.
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“Kieran just felt his groin. We hope it is not serious.
“We were missing Matt Targett through illness so we’ve got a really stretched squad at the moment.”
Leo Shahar missed his chance to make his Newcastle United debut
Targett’s illness handed Shahar an opportunity. The youngster has trained with the first-team a lot in recent weeks, and eventually got the chance to be on the bench.
A place on the bench for Leo Shahar this evening 🙌
It's the first time the 18-year old has been named in a senior matchday squad ⤵️
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) April 2, 2025
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That is an important milestone for Shahar, whose next objective will be to make his professional debut.
There was a chance it could have happened on Wednesday night, with Kieran Trippier coming off due to a groin issue.
While Howe could have turned to Shahar in that moment, he instead opted to bring on Emil Krafth. Given how tight the game was and how important victory was, the Toon boss was right to go for experience and introduce Krafth.
But it should not be long before Shahar makes his Newcastle United debut. The same goes for Neave, who looks like a real talent.
The future is certainly bright at St James’ Park. As well as Shahar and Neave, there are various other youngsters who are hopefully destined to become first-team stars at Newcastle United.
The likes of Trevan Sanusi, Alfie Harrison and Sam Alabi have a lot of potential, while there are high hopes for Vakhtang Salia, who will join the club this summer.