Newcastle United have unearthed 'outstanding' defender to solve injury crisis - no one saw this coming
Lewis Miley has proven himself as an indispensable member of Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United squad in recent weeks.
Lewis Miley put in a man-of-the-match performance for Newcastle United at right-back against Chelsea on Saturday.
It was the 19-year-old’s first ever Premier League match in the position, having been moved into the role following injuries to Tino Livramento, Emil Krafth and Kieran Trippier.
Miley started at right-back and scored against Fulham in the Carabao Cup in midweek and continued his momentum into the Chelsea game.
The Magpies raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to a Nick Woltemade brace before Chelsea came back to secure a point with second-half goals from Reece James and Joao Pedro.
After rarely being tested against Fulham on Wednesday, Miley had a tough task up against the pace and trickery of Chelsea winger Alejandro Garnacho. But the England Under-21 international barely gave the Argentine a sniff.
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Lewis Miley gets biggest compliment possible after NUFC performance v Chelsea
TNT Sports pundit Peter Crouch stated that Miley had ‘bullied’ the former Manchester United man in his half-time analysis.
And after the game, fellow pundit and former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole went a step further by paying Miley arguably the biggest compliment possible as a makeshift full-back.
Cole said: “I’m going to throw a name out here, Paolo Maldini defended like that. He looked like, player’s dribbling at him, he was the one that was in control. He knew he had Garnacho’s number there. Fantastic defending.”
Out of nowhere, Miley has slotted in seamlessly at right-back and already looks like a genuine alternative option for Eddie Howe to consider even once the likes of Livramento and Trippier return from injury. The 19-year-old’s versatility and recent eye for goal make him one of the most valuable players in the squad at the moment.
Miley has scored three goals in his last seven appearances and he almost scored again on Saturday, with a header sailing over at the end of the first half.
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Eddie Howe explains Lewis Miley switch to right-back
Following the Fulham game, Howe confirmed he has no reservations about playing Miley at right-back due to his technical quality and understanding of the role.
“Lewis' performance at right-back, I thought, was outstanding,” Howe said. “He's not really played there before.
“We did quite a bit of work with him this morning, in terms of how to be a right-back. But his technical delivery, we never doubted.
“His tactical understanding of the position, I thought, was at the highest level, considering his lack of experience there.
“I mean, Lewy is always level-headed and calm. When I told him, I'm going to play you at right-back, his reaction was typical.
“There was just one training session where we just talked through what we wanted to do. But the fact he did it for the team, and he did it in such a good way, I think you get rewarded for that.
“He has such a bright future.”