Sean Neave was back among the Newcastle U21s just days after his Champions League debut
Sean Neave celebrates with teammate Anthony Munda
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Newcastle United academy coach Robbie Stockdale believes the Magpies youth setup can be proud of the role they have played in guiding Sean Neave on the path to his senior debut.
The Winlaton-born striker has been discussed as a potential first-team prospect over the last two years after establishing himself as a regular goalscorer at Under-18s and Under-21s level during that period.
Remarkably, Neave landed a Carabao Cup winners medal when he was named as a substitute for the Magpies historic Wembley win against Liverpool last season and has been an unused substitute on 22 other occasions in Premier League, Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Champions League fixtures.
However, he finally made his competitive senior debut when he came off the bench to Harvey Barnes during the final few minutes of United’s 6-1 win in the first leg of their Champions League play-off round tie with Azerbaijani champions Qarabag.
Neave returned to Tyneside with the Magpies squad on Thursday and was immediately handed a start for the United Under-21s as they faced their Fulham counterparts in a Premier League 2 fixture on Friday night. The 18-year-old wasted little time in making an impact as he scored from the penalty spot with just 12 minutes on the clock after he had been upended in the visitors area.
Sean Neave scores from the penalty spot during the Premier League 2 Fixture between Newcastle United U21 and Fulham U21
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Neave was replaced by Michael Mills at half-time as he was given some crucial game-time ahead of a hectic period at first-team level that will provide the young striker with further opportunities to add to his maiden senior appearance. The forward will be in the squad for the Premier League game at the Etihad tonight.
Magpies Under-21s interim lead coach Stockdale expressed his delight over Neave’s landmark moment and gave an insight into the decision to name the striker in his side for Friday night’s win against Fulham.
He told ChronicleLive: “It’s a really proud moment for Sean and his family and friends that he’s made his debut - but it’s a proud moment for the academy with all of the hard work the coaches do with him. The coaches all the way through the system have had some kind of influence on where he has got to.
“I knew we were getting Sean and Leo this afternoon ([Friday] and they only played 45 minutes so you can probably predict what will happen tomorrow [Saturday]. That’s fine, that’s the communication with the first team, it’s really fluid, it’s really open between the two, which is great for us and it’s great that the boys are getting some minutes into their legs.”
Neave and Shahar are likely to be in contention to earn first team minutes in the second leg of the play-off tie with Qarabag on Tuesday night as they continue to enhance their reputations as two of the most promising youngsters within the Magpies setup.
Stockdale admitted he has seen a big improvement from both players and believes they have made the most of training alongside Eddie Howe’s first-team squad in recent months.
“They are training with world class players so they are going to improve with that as well. It’s just finding that right balance between training and getting them minutes in the games.
“We are thankful we had them for the first-half today and you could see they have come on leaps and bounds. We’ve not really seen them in training for a long time to be perfectly honest and it was great to have them back in the squad tonight.”
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