Liverpool midfielder’s positive Newcastle United message amid Champions League battle

Miley was named on the Newcastle bench for the first time since signing his first professional contract at the club earlier this month. The 17-year-old has trained regularly with The Magpies first-team this season and even featured in the mid-season friendlies against Al-Hilal and Rayo Vallecano back in December.

He also travelled with the first-team to AFC Bournemouth where he was named on the bench for the first time in a competitive match back in February. And with Newcastle currently experiencing a midfield injury crisis, Miley could be in with a chance of making his competitive debut for the club heading into the final two games of the season.

Sean Longstaff is a major doubt for the game along with Joe Willock while Joelinton also took a knock during the 4-1 win over Brighton.

And Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe didn’t rule out the possibility of involving Miley in Monday night’s match against Leicester City at St James’ Park (8pm kick-off) where he is set to be named on the bench.

“Lewy’s a real talent,” said Howe. “Now he’s been training with the team, I wouldn’t necessarily say consistently all season, but [for] the majority, I’d say he’s been with us.

“The biggest compliment I can give him is that he hasn’t looked out of place. He’s looked like part of the group.

“For someone so young, technically, to survive within the group is no mean feat. Some of the drills we do are very difficult. He’s survived in those drills, and that’s a big thing.

“So I would have no question marks about putting him in. Whether he’s ready or not, that will come down to how he performs.”

After being part of the squad on Thursday, Miley took to Instagram to post an image of him walking into the ground and celebrating with the team in the dressing room afterwards.

And former Newcastle academy star Bobby Clark, was quick to reply with a message of support showing clapping and heart emojis. Clark, son of former United midfielder Lee, left Newcastle to join Liverpool almost two years ago.

The now 18-year-old made his Premier League debut for Jurgen Klopp’s side back in August after featuring for the first-team in pre-season last summer. The boyhood Newcastle fan made his first start for The Reds in the Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out win over Derby County and has been a regular in their Premier League 2 Under-21s side this season.

Although Clark left prior to Newcastle’s takeover in 2021, sporting director Dan Ashworth has been questioned about keeping hold of the club’s best young talents and improving the academy set-up.

“I don’t know the situation around Bobby – I don’t know the detail around it – but, ultimately, our goal is to make sure we do attract and retain the talent and manage that talent better than anybody else.”