Top 20 Prospects at Newcastle United

On Sep 16, 2020

After watching and following Newcastle United’s youth system from afar I felt it was time we rank the top prospects at Newcastle United!

This list is not final. Every time a player proves good enough to be in this list I will release another article updating you all with who I added and where they rank. Simultaneously, when someone is “no longer a prospect” (getting to that in the next section) I will also update the list with the new rankings. Even if there are no changes, I will release the rankings at the top of every month to let you know how each player is performing.

Disclaimer: Someone will get mad at this list. Maybe it’s you, it’s completely fine if you’re mad at a list. That’s okay.

RULES:

A prospect at Newcastle United is a player who meets ALL of the following criteria:

The player must be under the age of 25
The player must have less than 10 Premier League (Or 10 of any of the other top 4 European Leagues – Spain, France, Germany, Italy) appearances for any club

Some thoughts on how these rankings will play out. This is not an end-all-be-all list. I am trying to project, who is the most promising player in Newcastle United’s system. However, I am not going to rank a 17 year old player with 0 Premier League appearances over Matty Longstaff. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I could definitely rank a younger player with a few 1st team appearances in cups over an older player with 8 Premier League appearances. The list will change, and I will consistently provide updates monthly. Follow me on Twitter @nufc_greg for more frequent updates.

Here are the things I’m looking for:

Age—Not only must the player be young (under 25), but his performance to this point must dominating competition at lower levels.
Statistics—This is important as the player must have displayed some sort of extraordinary talent at some point. Again, relative to age. If Jack Colback gets a hattrick in a U23 match, I don’t care.
Position—I will take a look at scouting reports to an extent. If a defensive midfielder is a great passer and holds things together, I won’t be judging him on goals scored or assists as much as I would judge an attacking midfielder.
Scouting Report/Expert Analysis—I am not nor never have been a Premier League player or a professional Soccer/Football player of any kind. Mainly, because I’m not good enough. Similarly, I do not have the resources or time to scout all of the players who are playing in our academy individually. Maybe one day I will, and if anyone has any connections, get me in touch, and I’d be happy to speak to them. But as of today I’m more fan than expert.
Special Skill Set—If you are a winger with pace,. you are in. If you are a sniper passing the ball 40 yards, or a great set piece taker, or a stonewall reliable defender, you too are in.
Injury History—You are young and in the best shape of your life. If the player can’t stay healthy as an academy player in his teens or…