When you think of Newcastle United, you don’t first think of a full-flowing youth system.
While Alan Shearer began his youth in his home city, he did not play for Newcastle and signed an academy deal with Southampton before the Magpies could swoop. On the south coast, he was schooled and developed into the superstar the Toon would one day welcome home.
Newcastle have since sharpened their academy ranks, with the PIF investing in young talent to underlay Eddie Howe’s first-team squad. It is by supporting the seniors with promising up-and-comers that the chances of sustained success are raised, forging a closer bond with the city besides.
But Newcastle are still putting their emphasis on bringing over impactful additions to help Howe achieve his goals. However, one of these recent arrivals, Anthony Elanga, has struggled to get going so far, and a continuation of his woes could see a young prospect rise up and take his place.
Elanga's start to life at Newcastle
Let’s scale it back a bit. It’s transfer deadline day, August 2024. Newcastle need a right winger, need one badly.
And Elanga has been profiled as the man for the job, with Newcastle persistent after an initial £35m offer was rejected by Evangelos Marinakis. A second £50m bid arrives, proving the scale of Newcastle’s ambition, but Marinakis doesn’t want to play ball, and Tyneside do not welcome their man.
One year on, Elanga has signed for Newcastle in a £55m deal, and this tells us of a clear strategy for a player who has been scouted and analysed. He fits Howe’s vision and racked up 31 goal contributions across two Premier League terms with the Tricky Trees.
But he’s struggled thus far in the north east, having gone 12 matches in all competitions this term without a single direct goal involvement. Limited in attacking quality, Howe, and Elanga himself, will expect much more over the coming months.
The jury remains out, of course, but there’s a lot to be excited about, with Elanga’s fleet-footed pace and creative flair singled out by pundit Jamie Carragher as being perfect for Woltemade, who has suffered no such slowness in his start to life at SJP.
However, if Newcastle’s speedy signing fails to improve, he may fall quickly down the pecking order, with Jacob Murphy racking up an assist in midweek.
But it’s not just the 30-year-old stalwart who could threaten Elanga’s berth, with a Lamine Yamal-esque youngster looking to make headway on Tyneside after arriving from overseas this summer.
The Newcastle teen who's 'like Yamal"
Newcastle have a wave of youth talent incoming on Tyneside as has not been seen in many years. The likes of Elliot Anderson (sadly sold to Nottingham Forest) and Lewis Miley are among the brightest rising stars.
But that’s not all. An impetus has been placed on signing formative players and developing them. Seung-soo Park is a fine representation of this, having been dubbed ‘the Korean Lamine Yamal’ by one Asian football writer, who understands the teenager has been given his own locker at St. James’ Park, which tells much of Howe’s belief in the youngster’s potential.
Aged 18, Park joined the Magpies from K League 2 side Suwon Bluewings this summer, fee undisclosed. He had featured 18 times for the Suwon first team, scoring once and providing three assists.
Instantly among the senior fold, journalist Liam Kennedy marvelled at the “surprise package”, with the high regard he was held in clear from the off.
Like Elanga, Park is endowed with speed and power, and he’s versatile enough to play across the frontline. Across two matches in the EFL Trophy this term, he has shown much promise, combative in the challenge while being creative and enterprising on the ball.
Minutes played
62′
90′
Goals
0
0
Assists
0
1
Touches
26
49
Shots (on target)
0 (0)
2 (1)
Accurate passes
16/18 (89%)
23/28 (82%)
Chances created
1
3
Dribbles
2/3
3/3
Recoveries
2
3
Tackles won
0/0
0/1
Ground duels
3/4
5/7
Those ball-carrying statistics tell a tale. Park has the trappings of an elite dribbler, and in this, he could rival Elanga in the years to come at St. James’ Park.
The comparisons to Yamal are not without substance, and if the talent can develop his prolific edge in front of goal, he could topple Elanga and maybe even rival the likes of Anthony Gordon and Nick Woltemade for the talismanic crown among Howe’s star men.
After all, the evidence thus far shows a player whose creativity and flair on the ball is cut from a similar cloth to those at the highest step of the Newcastle pyramid. To put that another way, it’s only a matter of time.
Hailed as a “real find” by Toon correspondent Charlier Bennett, Park is billed for big things, all right, with the reporter going on to whether the versatile forward “should remain with the first team this season?”
He has now made eight appearances for the U21s, and while Park continues to search for his first goal in black and white, like Elanga, he is adapting to a wholly new environment and could find himself fast-tracked with a bit more match action.
The five-cap South Korean U20 international, with one goal to his name, is one of the most exciting young talents to emerge from Asia in recent years, and though he faces stiff competition for a place on the Newcastle flanks, he has a big fan in Howe, and boasts the ability to leapfrog Elanga down the line, should the Swedish winger fail to kick on at the senior level.