Eddie Howe outlines Newcastle United transfer strategy after £35m deal - two summer signings already lined up

Newcastle’s injury and suspension situation has seen Sven Botman, Lewis Hall, Jamaal Lascelles, Anthony Gordon and Matt Targett ruled out of action.

As a result, Howe has called upon two of Newcastle’s most promising academy talents to be part of the first-team squad.

Leo Shahar was named on the bench for the first time in the Premier League for Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Brentford at St James’ Park on Wednesday night. The 18-year-old right-back has impressed at Under-21s level for Newcastle as well as internationally with England Under-18s.

The teenager joined Newcastle from Wolverhampton Wanderers last season and signed his first professional contract at Newcastle in 2024. 17-year-old Sean Neave has also been part of Newcastle’s first-team squad for the past couple of months after being fast-tracked from the Under-18s.

Neave has featured for Newcastle Under-21s while training with the first-team and is in fine form with four goals and two assists in four Premier League 2 games. While he is set to make his senior debut for Newcastle, his place on the bench in the Carabao Cup final win against Liverpool last month has seen him earn a winner’s medal.

Both Shahar and Neave will be hoping to get first-team minutes before the end of the season as Newcastle head into their final nine games of the campaign.

Eddie Howe addresses Newcastle United’s academy stars

When asked about the call-ups to the first team for Neave and now Shahar, he said: “Yeah, well, those two players that you mentioned have been training with us now for a period of time, and they've both done very well. They both deserve their place on the bench.”

Youth a key part of Newcastle United’s transfer strategy

A strong line of academy players to call upon will be crucial to Newcastle’s long-term success, particularly when it comes to battling the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules. Academy players often come at very little cost in PSR calculations but, if sold, they are counted as pure profit.

Newcastle sold academy product Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest for £35million last summer in a reluctant sale that ultimately helped the club comply with PSR and avoid a points deduction. The Magpies have Lewis Miley part of their squad and with a solid amount of first-team experience under his belt at just 18-years-old.

Miley has played in the Champions League for Newcastle and featured 40-times for the first team under Howe.

“We really want to see a stream of players coming through from that part of the football club,” Howe said. “We've done it in the past with Elliot and Lewy, and they're massive players for us, or have been massive players for us historically, and will continue to be in the future.

“So, yeah, we hope we can find some more gems.”

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NUFC have already lined up two summer transfers

On the subject of youth additions, Newcastle have already confirmed the signing of 17-year-old Georgian forward Vakhtang Salia from Dinamo Tbilisi. Salia will officially join Newcastle once he turns 18 in August and will likely be loaned out by Newcastle for the 2025-26 campaign.

The Magpies are also understood to be close to agreeing a deal for 18-year-old Malaga winger Antonio Cordero. The teenager is out of contract in the summer and has an offer on the table from Newcastle, who have previously flown the player and his family over to Tyneside in a bid to secure his signature.

Like Salia, Cordero will likely be loaned out for the 2025-26 campaign.

But Newcastle’s long-term ambitions for both players would be either to intergrate them into the first-team squad or, as they did with Yankuba Minteh, sell them on for a significant profit.

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