Newcastle United U21s coach drops Magpies goalkeeper future hint

Several of Newcastle United’s young prospects are attracting interest from clubs in England and Scotland as possible loan moves are considered ahead of the January transfer window.

The Magpies Under-21s have endured mixed fortunes during the opening three months of the season as Adam Lawrence’s side compete in several competitions at home and abroad. Despite struggling to find form on a consistent basis during the campaign, there have been a plethora of scouts and representatives from clubs in League One, League Two and the top two tiers of the Scottish game taking in games at Whitley Park on a regular basis.

The likes of Under-21s captain Cathal Heffernan, striker Sean Neave and defensive trio Alex Murphy, Charlie McArthur and Leo Shahar are all capturing the attention of clubs north and south of the border. Goalkeeper Max Thompson could also be handed another opportunity to impress at a senior level after spending time on loan at Northampton Town and Chesterfield over the last two seasons.

The 21-year-old stopper was named in United’s Champions League squad and has been named amongst the substitutes for wins against Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and Athletic Club, as well as the home defeat against Barcelona on the opening matchday of this season’s competition. Thompson has made three Premier League 2 appearances for the Magpies Under-21s this season and was in the starting line-up for a 2-0 defeat in a Premier League International Cup meeting with Paris Saint-Germain on Friday night.

Speaking after the loss at Whitley Park, Magpies academy lead coach Adam Lawrence praised Thompson for the attitude he has shown when returning to Under-21s duty - but stressed any decision over the next step in the goalkeeper’s career would be made by staff within the senior setup at St James Park.

Energise

He told The Gazette: “That is above me in terms of Max is a first-team player. All I would say is when he has dropped down and played for us (with the Under-21s) is he has really bought into what the group are doing. First and foremost, he’s getting his minutes in terms of game-time and then it’s up to the manager, the staff and the club to decide what the next part of his journey is.

“We are here to get the levels higher to get individuals into the first team and energise the first team and then we are also there to support them when players do need to drop down if they’ve not been playing regularly. So if it’s a Max Thompson or a Harrison Ashby, Alex Murphy has played a couple of games, we are here to support and the next bit is getting towards Christmas and January and looking at what he (Thompson) is doing.”

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