A former Newcastle United youngster has impressed with National League North neighbours South Shields.

Former Newcastle United youngster Kyle Crossley has been praised for the impact he has made during his first full season in senior football.

The 20-year-old forward featured alongside the likes of Alex Murphy, Lewis Miley and Charlie McArthur in United academy sides in recent years and hit an impressive run of form with six games in eight Premier League 2 fixtures during the final months of last season. However, Crossley was released by Newcastle at the end of the campaign when his contract came to a close.

South Shields celebrate after Kyle Crossley grabs their opening goal in a 2-0 home win against Chester (photo Kevin Wilson) | Kevin Wilson

placeholder image — South Shields celebrate after Kyle Crossley grabs their opening goal in a 2-0 home win against Chester (photo Kevin Wilson) | Kevin Wilson

After training with South Shields during the summer, the youngster was reunited with former Magpies academy coach Elliott Dickman when he penned a two-year deal with the National League North club. Crossley has impressed in non-league football’s second tier after scoring seven goals and providing seven assists in 31 appearances during the campaign also made his first appearances in the FA Cup and FA Trophy.

Mariners boss Dickman has been delighted with the progress Crossley has made during his first season at the 1st Cloud Arena and challenged the young forward to strive for consistency throughout the remainder of the campaign.

He told The Gazette: “Kyle has learnt a lot from our senior players this season and he should be proud of what he has achieved. He is certainly improving and we shouldn’t forget it’s his first full season in men’s football. It can take players to adjust and Kyle has had some really good moments and some frustrating moments where he is maybe disappointed he hasn’t played as many minutes as he would have liked. He has done well in the last handful of games and had a spell earlier in the season but he now has to find that consistency over the coming weeks and months.”

Crossley is not the only former Magpies academy player in the South Shields squad after Dylan Stephenson agreed to spend the rest of the season with the Mariners following a summer move to National League club Dagenham and Redbridge. An injury to top goalscorer Paul Blackett will hand an opportunity to both players and Dickman believes their experience of facing senior players during their time with Newcastle will aid their ability to step into the shoes of one of the most integral figures within his squad.

He said: “Newcastle’s academy do an unbelievable job with the players and working hard behind the scenes to get players ready for senior football. I think the gap between the academy programme and the senior game has shrunk a little with the EFL Trophy and the National League Cup and those competitions, no matter what people think of them, have given academy lads more of an insight into the challenges of the senior game.”

Crossley will be back in action when South Shields host National League North rivals Needham Market on Saturday afternoon as his side look to bounce back from their weekend defeat at promotion contenders Chorley.

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