Newcastle United have proven in recent weeks that they can evolve under Eddie Howe. A pleasing degree of success has been clinched with Sandro Tonali in the deep-sitting midfield role, influencing and looking all elegant.
The Italian six has unshackled some of Bruno Guimaraes’ latent qualities, swept the cloth covering the raging bull that is Joelinton’s eyes. Sky Sports’ Keith Downie remarked after Leicester City were taken to the shops that Tonali had “changed the whole dynamic of the team.”
It’s good stuff, especially when looking forward. Newcastle must sustain their purple patch and all that, but Howe has surely placated some growing concerns regarding his place in the manager’s seat.
Marrying this evolution with the steady stream of youth talent pushing through to St. James’ Park and Newcastle have a recipe for lasting success. Certainly, the academy numbers are starting to make waves.
Newcastle's most exciting talents
Sean Longstaff, 27, is the most accomplished homegrown Magpie in recent times, but his emergence was something of an outlier before PIF came along.
Lewis Miley sits on the fringes and is one of the most talented teenagers in English football, while Elliot Anderson was sold to Nottingham Forest in a £35m deal this summer. He’s lighting it up under Nuno Espirito Santo but his sale was necessary to appease PSR.
Now, more appear to be on the way. Ben Parkinson is a talented young forward with one senior Newcastle cap to his name and Alfie Harrison and Trevan Sanusi are also hoping to break through the membrane of the youth scene after impressing during pre-season.
However, the cream of the crop might just be a young player who’s yet to touch down on Tyneside. Indeed, Newcastle pulled off a coup when signing 17-year-old Vakhtang Salia in October, and can anticipate his talents in 2025.
Vakhtang Salia is "one of the best prospects in the world"
Newcastle warded off interest from behemoths of the game like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to secure Salia’s signature, agreeing a deal with Dimano Tbilisi that will see him move to Tyneside when he turns 18 in August 2025.
Howe must be delighted with Newcastle’s scouting department, having identified and acted to bring “one of the best teenage prospects in the world” to St. James’ Park, as has been said by journalist Graeme Bailey.
While in the maiden stage of his promising career, Salia has already gained plenty of experience with Dinamo Tbilisi in Georgia, racking up seven goals and two assists across 39 senior showings.
Owing to his rise on the club front, Salia was also awarded a debut performance for Georgia U21s in June, pulling all the stops as he moves toward a reputation as his nation’s finest prospect since Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia stormed onto the scene.
Described as Dinimo Tbilisi’s latest “elite talent” by Hungarian journalist Bence Bocsak, Salia is one of the finest players of his age bracket – and that’s across the globe. There’s a reason why Newcastle acted so swiftly to snap him up.
Bocsak noted last season that the Georgian had more goal contributions than any 16-year-old across Europe’s top five leagues, barring only Lamine Yamal.
Sitting behind Barcelona’s star boy is hardly something to be ashamed of, with the electric winger skyrocketing to stardom in 2024. Picking up the Young Player of the Tournament as Spain won Euro 2024, Yamal was hailed as “the next superstar” by presenter Gary Lineker.
Without question, Yamal is one of the greatest prospects of his generation, and though Salia isn’t anywhere near his giddy level, the Newcastle recruit could bring his qualities to the fore over the coming years and emulate Yamal’s thriving style of football.
With 34 goal contributions across 72 outings for La Blaugrana, Yamal is the real deal alright, also ranking among the top 5% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons and the top 10% for tackles per 90, as per FBref. It’s not just his flashy movements, his flicks and curling shots, but his tenacity and intelligence, defying his teenage years.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.
Salia is still finding his feet in terms of his best and most productive positional value, but it’s clear that he’s got a natural-born striking instinct that can be harnessed out wide or in a centre-forward role.
That latter role could be handy in the years to come. Newcastle will be desperate to keep the great Alexander Isak on the books despite growing intrigue in his signature, and with Callum Wilson out of contract at the end of the season too, wouldn’t it be great for Salia to hit the ground running on English shores.
Left winger
27
5
1
Centre-forward
12
2
1
Right winger
1
1
0
Attacking midfield
1
0
0
His potency in front of goal is indeed something that runs parallel with a playmaking quality that has drawn comparisons to Yamal – that and his fleet-footedness, of course.
Salia’s got it all going for him, and having made significant progress in his homeland already, he might just be laying the foundations for a prosperous Premier League career.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
Newcastle are a family, shaped not just into an outfit of talent but one of togetherness and belief too. Salia will flourish under Howe’s wing and must be afforded time and patience to nurture his talents and become United’s own version of a prodigy such as Yamal.
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