Two Newcastle United Youngsters To Watch Out For Next Season
Newcastle United are bound to improve their squad over the summer by making expensive signings, but they mustn’t lose sight of the fact that their academy and U23 teams can provide them with great first team support too.
It looks as though Adam Armstrong isn’t going to make the grade after a mixed spell at Barnsley, though he is once again in the England under-20 squad. So we can never say never as far as he is concerned. Although there are a few other loanees who are interesting, this coming season may come too soon for them.
Freddie Woodman is an excellent goalkeeping prospect but will have a lot of competition, while Sean Longstaff and Callum Roberts can’t expect to force their way in just yet. Instead, the below two players can make an impact next year at first team level:
Rolando Aarons
Having already made a breakthrough at first team level, Aarons won’t be taking any Newcastle fans by surprise should he emerge as a top prospect this year. His continuing injury problems make him a forgotten man to the rest of the football community but don’t bet against him just yet.
Aarons is a supremely talented left winger, something Newcastle are desperate for after all but deciding that Yoan Gouffran will not cut it out for them back at the top level. The Jamaican is a thoroughly capable player and if he can only shake off his recurring fitness problems, make no mistake that Newcastle have on their hands, a player capable of making it right to the very top.
Stuart Findlay
The former Celtic youngster got the chance to impress in the first team this season when handed his debut at the back by Benitez in the FA Cup third round replay at St James’s Park against Birmingham. As a centre-back at 21, he’s a long way off reaching his peak and so to have even made it into Rafa’s thinking at this stage shows what talent he has.
He’s a classy individual, his style being even more suited to the Premier League than to the Championship and so expect him to be given the odd chance when the opportunity arises over the next year or two. Findlay’s short to medium term goals will be to get more first-team experience and perhaps even break into the Scotland international squad at some point.
