Newcastle United’s injury crisis was a disaster, but it did give some young players a chance to make the step up.
Toon fans witnessed the emergence of Lewis Miley, who already looks like a superstar at the age of 17. He excelled in the Newcastle United midfield in some massive games, producing performances that were wise beyond his years.
While Miley is the poster boy for the Newcastle academy right now, the club have plenty of other talents who are looking to become first-team regulars on Tyneside.
One of those is Ben Parkinson, who was heavily involved with Eddie Howe‘s squad during the Magpies’ injury crisis.
The 18-year-old made his senior debut during the defeat to Bournemouth back in November, and he received praise from Howe after the game.
Parkinson, who is primarily a winger, has been on the bench on seven other occasions this season, including in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund and PSG away.
He was also on the bench for Saturday’s derby victory over Sunderland, before representing the Under-21s on Monday night against Leicester City.
Parkinson scored in a 2-2 draw for Newcastle’s youngsters, and Toon coach Ben Dawson admitted after the game that the teenager has certainly improved after his prolonged spell with the first-team.
Newcastle coach thinks Ben Parkinson has improved recently
Following the 2-2 draw with Leicester, Newcastle youth coach Ben Dawson spoke to the club’s official website and praised Parkinson for his recent improvement.
“Whenever the lads get the opportunity to train with the first-team, it’s always a benefit and you see little glimpses when they come back to the under-21s group,” he said.
“Ben’s had a longer period than most, in terms of days spent up with the first-team group and you can see that in some of his play.
“He’s always had that knack of being in the right place at the right time and was fortunate enough to be in the right place to score tonight which should have been the goal that killed the game off.”
Parkinson will hope for more Newcastle opportunities
It is great to hear that Dawson has noticed improvement in Parkinson. It just shows that training alongside better players makes you a better player.
That has happened with Parkinson, while he will also have benefitted from working closely with Eddie Howe and his team.
With the injury crisis settling down, the young forward might struggle for opportunities between now and the rest of the season, but he will be keen to keep improving and seize any chance he gets to work with the first-team.
The likes of Miley and Elliot Anderson have proven that Howe will give youngsters a chance, as long as they earn his trust. That will be the next step for Parkinson, who overcame a huge hurdle last year when he made his senior Newcastle United debut.
