The exciting 16-year-old impressing in Newcastle’s academy – One to watch

It’s time to take a look at perhaps Newcastle’s highest-ceiling talent, Trevan Sanusi: how he’s progressing, what he’s good at, and how he can improve.

Newcastle pulled off a major coup bringing Trevan into the academy last summer, beating the likes of Man United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Man City to the former Birmingham winger.

Since joining, his talent has been evident, with the 16-year-old regularly getting U21 minutes; often looking like the best player on the pitch regardless of the age group.

The left-winger has an incredible low centre-of-gravity which allows him to change direction quickly, and when combined with his strong pace and rapid feet, you have someone who can beat his man with ease.

His crossing looks very good when he plays on the right and I’ve also seen him deliver some lovely floated crosses to the back-post runner when playing on our left. His assist in our UEFA Youth League draw with Borussia Dortmund came from the latter.

His work-rate is good off the ball and Sanusi seems very focused on adapting to the academy’s high pressing system. As a player, however, there are some clear things he must work on, and most of it is to with decision making and goal contributions.

One weakness I’ve noticed is he lacks a bit of that “killer’s instinct” in the box. There was one moment in last month’s defeat to Man City where he would’ve grabbed a goal had he been alive at the back post.

Another thing was his decision making, which he has been working on. Sometimes he tries to do everything himself. Here he should lay his teammate in for an early cross and make a run, instead he runs into traffic and too late; allowing the opposition to recover.

One thing you cannot doubt is Sanusi’s elite level confidence. This will take him far; he never shies away from a duel. When stepping up into the U21 team, he plays exactly the same way, which you would hope will transfer into the men’s game when he inevitably takes that leap.

The main thing now, is that he adds end product to his game. He has 5 goals/assists in just over 1000mins this season. Of course, he is playing up against several players a few years older than him at U21 level and in a side that often struggles, which does excuse these numbers to an extent.

Despite his flaws, it’s very clear to see that Newcastle have an absolute diamond in Trevan Sanusi. At 16, he’s only going to continue to get better, and hopefully he shines one day for the first team.