Eddie Howe’s Lewis Miley praise may hint at change of heart for Newcastle United ahead of January
After his performance against Everton, Lewis Miley is the talk of the Toon this week, and Eddie Howe’s most recent remarks about the young player speak for themselves.
The 19-year-old has had to be patient in waiting for first-team chances at Newcastle United, but he grabbed his moment with both hands at the weekend
Against Everton, Lewis Miley scored and provided an assist. He became the youngest Newcastle player to achieve that milestone since 2005, and it was a real coming-of-age display from Miley.
It offers a tremendous challenge for Eddie Howe, who must now decide whether to keep the kid in his starting XI vs Spurs or bring Sandro Tonali back into the mix.
In any case, Newcastle’s plans for the January transfer window may have been made clear by Howe’s most recent remarks.
READ MORE: Four major takeaways as Eddie Howe speaks before Newcastle United versus Spurs
What Eddie Howe said about Lewis Miley
- In an interview with the media prior to the Magpies’ match against Spurs, the manager of Newcastle United lavished praise on Lewis Miley.
“He’s there on merit and he’s fighting for a starting place,” Howe stated. He’s impressing me with how he’s training and how he’s preparing himself for every opportunity he gets. It was a momentous event for him on Saturday.
“His desire for the ball and his skill with it were crucial for us. He played with composure and control. It truly couldn’t have gone much better—he scored and set up a goal.
It’s not the only positive talk around Miley at the moment. Malick Thiaw hailed Miley as ‘immense’ after the Everton game, and that’s a sentiment shared by many around the club. But what does that mean for Newcastle United moving forward?
Do Newcastle even need a new midfielder in January?
Howe may have played Miley at right-back in midweek against Marseille, but after Saturday, it’s evident the youngster is ready to thrive in midfield.
Newcastle has rejected rumors and claims that they could sell Miley. And why would they? While selling him would bring in pure profit and produce some PSR headroom, it’s simply not worth it.
All it takes to see that selling Miley would be a mistake is to consider how much Newcastle regrets selling Elliot Anderson. Given that he may now be able to save the club millions of pounds in the transfer market, this is particularly true.
Clearly, Miley has what it takes to perform at the top level. There’s no reason Miley can’t step up and establish herself as a regular in the starting lineup, even though it was believed that Newcastle was looking to add a new midfield player in January.
Anderson and Scott McTominay are targets that may cost Newcastle between £50 and £100 million. Yes, they are top-quality midfielders, but why spend all that money when there’s a perfectly decent and extremely exciting option sitting at home waiting for more playing time.
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