This could be a significant season for Newcastle United.
Eddie Howe‘s side could be cup champions this time next month, into the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool. They have also set up a last-16 tie with Brighton in the FA Cup, with Manchester’s two behemoths the only remaining teams from the Premier League‘s recognised ‘big six.’
That term is increasingly outmoded, with Newcastle qualifying for the Champions League in 2022/23, Aston Villa following their trail last term and Nottingham Forest currently ensconced in third, 18 points above Man United.
Newcastle definitely have a team capable of hitting huge heights, no longer punching above their weight but recognised as a fear-inducing opponent.
And alongside the exploits of the first team, the Magpies youth fold is making exciting progress too.
Newcastle’s new-found academy success
Homemade superstars were a rarity on Tyneside before Howe and PIF came along. Six years ago, under the tyrannical rule of Mike Ashley, Newcastle’s academy was observed to be in a ‘desperate state‘, but that has now changed.
Sean Longstaff was established and Elliott Anderson was coming through when everything changed in 2021, but the shift at youth level has since gone from strength to strength,
The infrastructure has been revamped, with now-former sporting director Dan Ashworth appointing 13 new academy staff members to rewrite the narrative about the club’s production line.
Now, there’s much to be excited about as the system blossoms as a whole. Lewis Miley is a fiercely exciting talent, while Anderson was sold to Nottingham Forest last summer for £35m. Yankuba Minteh also joined Brighton in a £30m deal to placate PSR.
Newcastle’s U21s sit 14th in the Premier League 2, having finished 22nd last term and achieved promotion the year before that. This is incremental progress.
Not just promoting from the city, United are signing exciting up-and-comers to suffuse the formative ranks with a golden glow. Let’s have a look at a young forward who might just be the pick of the bunch.
Howe may have “one of the best prospects in the world”
St. James’ Park has appealed to some of the most exciting senior stars in England – Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes et al., but the same can be said for those at the bottom of the pack.
Vakhtang Salia is one of the most exciting Georgian players to emerge since Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and it’s a testament to Newcastle’s progress that he opted for Howe’s team last year despite interest from Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
Aged 17, Salia has already posted seven goals and two assists across 39 senior appearances for Dinamo Tbilisi, with journalist Bence Bocsak duly describing him as an “elite talent.”
A mobile and threatening forward, the teenager has yet to find his best position but is routinely deployed on the left flank. He could provide relief across the frontline after joining United in August when he turns 18.
|
Vakhtang Salia – Career Stats by Position |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Apps |
Goals |
Assists |
|
Left winger |
29 |
5 |
1 |
|
Centre-forward |
12 |
2 |
1 |
|
Right winger |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Attacking midfield |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Stats via Transfermarkt |
|||
Who knows, with such high stock, Salia could assert himself as one of the most talented youngsters in the Premier League next season, maybe even rivalling Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri.
A true prodigy, 17-year-old Nwaneri has made waves at Arsenal over the past several years, becoming the youngest player in Premier League history when introduced against Brentford in September 2022 (aged 15 years and 181 days), and properly breaking into Mikel Arteta’s plans this year.
A right-sided player, he’s scored seven times across 24 matches, instrumental in keeping the Gunners afloat with talisman Bukayo Saka sidelined for over a month and not expected to return any time soon.
Development isn’t linear but Salia is doing all that he can in his homeland, sharpening his tools to a keen edge before crossing over to Newcastle. With a natural-born goalscoring ability and dynamism that sees him place across different roles, Howe might just find that he can introduce a rival to Arsenal’s talk-of-the-town talent.
Journalist Graeme Bailey has hailed Salia as “one of the best teenage prospects in the world,” and when he alights in Newcastle later this year, there’s every chance that he could make a fast start and show Howe that he’s unearthed a rising star just as bright as Nwaneri.
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