Newcastle United have now revealed the FIVE Under-23 players who were promoted to Steve Bruce’s senior set up on Wednesday for the remainder of the 2019/20 season.
They include winger Tom Allan, midfielder Dan Barlaser, versatile defender Kelland Watts, blonde-haired midfielder Jack Young and 6ft 7′ goalkeeper Dan Langley.
While Barlaser will be unable to play (he’s 23 and has already played for Rotherham this year), Steve Harper has told NUFC TV that the other four are eligible to play – but will only be called upon on the off chance we were decimated by injuries.
Here’s a snippet from NUFC.co.uk’s announcement, confirming the U-23’s Steve Bruce has called up to train with the seniors:
On Wednesday, youngsters Tom Allan, Daniel Barlaser, Dan Langley, Kell Watts and Jack Young trained with Steve Bruce’s first team.
Allan – who finished as the under-23s’ leading scorer this term – has already made his senior Magpies debut, setting up a goal in the Emirates FA Cup win over Rochdale in January, while 6ft 7ins goalkeeper Langley joined his boyhood club at the age of 16 following a successful trial.
Young, who hails from Morpeth, has been with Newcastle since he was seven years old and Barlaser and Watts have returned from loan spells; Barlaser winning promotion from League One with Rotherham and Watts gaining valuable experience in League Two with Stevenage and Mansfield Town.
While their involvement with Bruce’s group is largely with a view to them staking their claim for future campaigns, some of the youngsters could yet come into contention this season.
A brilliant moment for the likes of Young and Langley in particular, two young players who’ve not been anywhere near the Newcastle United’s first-team prior to this call from Steve Bruce.
Barlaser arrives off the back of a superb loan spell with Rotherham, where he was deemed to be one of League One’s top player, while Watts is a highly-rated U-23 who was involved with the senior squad’s pre-season tour last summer.
As for Tom Allan, he’s the only one of the five who’ve featured in the first-team this season, with him bagging an assist on his senior debut in a 4-1 FA Cup win over Rochdale in January.
With 9 players now allowed on Steve Bruce’s bench and 5 substitutions allowed per game, it would be nice to see a few get a run out if and when our Premier League status is secured.
