Newcastle United Under-21's to come up against familiar face in aim to bounce back from Wrexham disappointment

The young Magpies face League One outfit Port Vale at Vale Park in the EFL Trophy tonight, aiming to bounce-back from defeat to Wrexham in their opening game of the competition. Newcastle were beaten 1-0 by Wrexham in an even game at the STōK Cae Ras last time out in a game that was watched by 8,000 spectators.

Tonight’s match sees them pitted against Port Vale and a very familiar face. Defender Lewis Cass could be set to square-off against Newcastle for the first time since leaving the club on a free transfer last summer. 

Cass never made a senior appearance for the Magpies, but he was a regular in the youth setup before enjoying a very promising loan spell with the Valiants in 2021/22 - one that convinced the club to sign him on a permanent basis. Cass was offered a contract by his boyhood club last summer, but he instead opted to join Port Vale with the promise of regular first-team football at senior level.

Taking to Twitter at the time of his United departure, Cass wrote: ‘I Would like to thank everyone associated with @nufc during my last 10 years at this great club. From the players in the changing room to the staff around the building thank you for making my time there special. Time for a new challenge @OfficialPVFC’

The 23-year-old was an unused substitute for Vale at the weekend as they were defeated 2-0 by League One leaders Portsmouth. Newcastle United defender Nathan Carlyon, meanwhile, is relishing the prospect of playing against a physical Port Vale side.

Carlyon told nufc.co.uk: “I think the (EFL Trophy) games are ones we always look forward to in terms of seeing how well we do against a more physical and experienced side. I think it’ll be good for the under-21s because we’ve been in a good run of form, playing some good football and we just need to try and convert the draws into wins.

“Ultimately, you’re playing against men so they’ll be a lot more physical and we need to expect they could play a certain style of football, whether that’s route one or playing long balls, so we have to be aware of that test.”