It has been an eventful summer on Tyneside, but 25 May proved a particularly significant date. On the same day Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto de Zerbi reached out to Sandro Tonali, Newcastle United announced Lewis Miley had signed a new long-term contract. Newcastle have recruited three midfielders this summer to offset the departures of Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes to Spurs and Arsenal, but it is rather telling that manager Matthias Jaissle is already a "big fan" of one he inherited.
Jaissle certainly did not think twice about starting Miley against Liverpool on the opening weekend, despite him only playing 45 minutes in pre-season following a spell out with a broken leg. Newcastle have since signed Nico Gonzalez from Manchester City in a deal worth up to £52m,, external but the new arrival is expected to complement Miley rather than hinder his progress and the academy graduate looks set to keep his place as he faces Tonali for the first time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday ( ). After previously learning from Tonali and Guimaraes, the 20-year-old now has the chance to step up in his natural role in the middle of the park.
Kieran Trippier believes his "very humble" former team-mate Miley is "more than capable" of doing just that. "You can see the development from when he first started training with the first team to where he is now," the ex-England defender said. "He's become a big presence and his ability for his age is immense.
He can go as far as he wants to - I believe in him that much. "But the most important thing is that he's grounded and always wants to learn. That will stand him in really good stead." Miley's level-headedness also made him a firm favourite of former Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe.
Howe even trusted Miley to fill in out of postion at right-back when Tino Livramento sustained a series of niggling injuries in his final campaign in charge. Miley, as a result, ended up playing the most minutes (1,403) of any English teenager in the Premier League last season before he turned 20 in May. Of those players aged 19 and under in the top flight at the time, from all nations, Miley ranked first for assists (four), successful passes (738), successful passes in the final third (188) and line-breaking passes (164).
But he also showed the gritty side of his game. Although Miley played a number of matches at full-back, which naturally led to more defensive situations, he was still first among teenagers for interceptions (20), second for possession won (69) and third for successful duels (84). He has since taken that experience back into midfield and put in an assured all-round performance in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool last week.
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