Eddie Howe praised for impact on Newcastle United defender as loan move sealed

Eddie Howe has been praised for the role he has played in the development of one Newcastle United defender that will look to make an impact during the latest loan spell of his career.

Three-and-a-half years have passed since the Magpies completed a deal to sign West Ham United’s highly-rated right-back Harrison Ashby and the youngster was paraded alongside fellow new signing Anthony Gordon on the St James Park pitch ahead of the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final tie against Southampton. Although the former Hammers prospect has appeared in pre-season fixtures for Howe’s side, he is yet to make a competitive first-team debut and two appearances as an unused substitute in Premier League draws with Chelsea and Leicester City are the closest he has come to a top flight bow.

The vast majority of his senior experience has come during loan spells with Swansea City, Queens Park Rangers and Bradford City - and Ashby will now spend what is believed to be the final year of his Magpies contract with League One club Luton Town. Hatters manager Jack Wilshire briefly featured alongside the full-back during their time at West Ham - and he has praised the improvement made by Ashby, despite his lack of on-field appearances for the Magpies.

He told Luton Today: “He’s dynamic, a good athlete, technically really good. I played with him, it was Covid, we played against Hull in the League Cup, so I remember him and I always followed him. He went to Newcastle and also someone else I follow as I worked with Eddie Howe, who I like a lot. The way he coaches, you can see what Eddie’s done with him, how he’s developed as a player, but also as a person. He’s really mature, he’s hungry, he wants to get better, he wants to be coached, he made that clear from when we first met up. It’s an area we’ve spoken about, we’ve obviously got Izzy Jones who’s a top full back at this level, but we need competition, plus also the ability to rotate and still have good quality there.”

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