A new league set-up for Toon starlets
NEWCASTLE United’s second string will be playing in a revamped Premier League 2 next season after top-flight chiefs decided to scrap the division being open to players in the under-23 bracket.
Instead, Premier League 2, with Newcastle set to again play in the second rung of the competition after failing to win promotion last term, reverts to the old format of the Under-21 League.
One of the reasons for the change was that Premier bosses feltt development players were languishing for too long in the league and harming their chances of progress.
Newcastle finished eighth in Premier League 2 last season but Eddie Howe was unable to give any new Academy graduates a chance in the first-team.
He did pick Lucas De Bolle and Jay Turner-Cooke in some of his senior squads but there were no new debutants - and this will be an area sporting director Dan Ashworth will be keen to improve on.
In recent years Sean Longstaff, Matty Longstaff, Elliot Anderson and Freddie Woodman have made first-team bows but Newcastle fans are eagerly anticipating the next cab off the rank.
The Magpies are expected to announce changes- to their under-18 set-up after Peter Ramage moved to the loans department.
The change in Premier League 2 has resulted in Liverpool Academy manager Alex Inglethorpe having his say on the change in structure.
He said: “I welcome that because it gets it back to the reality of what it actually is - which is an under -19 league in my opinion.
“Therefore, it allows players to play in it who are slightly older and I guess every club is going to do it slightly differently.”