20-year-old spotted in first-team training ahead of Newcastle’s trip to Everton on Thursday

20-year-old spotted in first-team training ahead of Newcastle’s trip to Everton on Thursday

Newcastle United take on Everton at Goodison Park on Thursday, and it looks like Eddie Howe is once again going to rely on the kids to fill out his bench.

The Magpies’ injury crisis got worse at the weekend, with Nick Pope the latest Toon player to be ruled out. It is a huge blow to lose the 31-year-old, who is going to miss up to five months of football.

It looks like the loss of Pope will be the only change to Eddie Howe’s squad, as the recent official update from Newcastle United suggests that none of the injured players are going to return in time for the game against Everton.

 

No fresh faces back in training ahead of Everton

The club have uploaded 28 photos from Tuesday’s training session to their official website.

 

There is no sign of the likes of Sven Botman, Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff, while Callum Wilson and Harvey Barnes continue to be absent too.

There was an appearance from Sandro Tonali, but he continues to serve his ban for betting after being investigated by the Italian Football Federation.

 

It therefore looks like the Newcastle squad that takes on Everton will be pretty much the same as the one that beat Manchester United on Saturday.

Amadou Diallo continues to train with Newcastle first-team
That means that Eddie Howe will have to lean on youth once again, with a few academy stars continuing to train with the first-team.

 

In photo number 23, Amadou Diallo and Alex Murphy can be seen taking part in training.

 

They have been on the bench for Newcastle’s previous three Premier League games, with the youngsters making their senior debuts for the club during the 4-1 win over Chelsea last month.

 

Eddie Howe will hope to give them more minutes on Thursday night, but that might depend on how tight the game is.

It would be great for the 20-year-old Diallo to make a cameo, as we did not truly see what he was capable of during his appearance against Chelsea. Him thriving at first-team level would be a major boost, as Newcastle are struggling for attacking options right now.

But whether Diallo and Murphy play against Everton or not, they will massively benefit from this first-team exposure. While the injury crisis has been a nightmare, it has given players an opportunity that they ordinarily would not have been afforded.