EDDIE Howe says Lewis Miley is part of his Newcastle United first team plans this season, with the Magpies head coach confirming he doesn't intend to send the teenage midfielder out on loan.
Miley made his senior debut from the bench against Chelsea on the last day of last season, becoming Newcastle's youngest ever Premier League player - and the 17-year-old impressed again against the same opponents in pre-season overnight.
Miley played all 90 minutes for the Magpies and caught the eye alongside Sandro Tonali in midfield in the 1-1 draw against Mauricio Pochettino's side.
A number of EFL clubs have been monitoring Miley's progress in the hope Newcastle would sanction a loan move this summer but Howe has now confirmed that won't be the case. The head coach believes Miley is still too young for a loan, and actually believes the teenager has a part to play for the Magpies this season.
He said: “The plan has been consistent in my mind. He will stay with us this season. There’s no thought of sending him on loan.
"For me he’s too young to be exposed to that at the moment. I think he needs to stay with his family and to train with us and to learn and develop around the players we have.
"I don’t think he’s surprised me because I’ve seen it for six months, including at the back end of last season, just how well he was developing and how strong he looked in the group.
"Physically is always the biggest test for someone so young but you’ve seen him today — he’s a very, very good athlete, he’s strong and a good size and he looks like he can handle the environment he’s in. The next step is to push him and develop him and I’m sure he’ll get minutes this year.”
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Howe added: “The biggest challenge for Lewi will be to handle the attention and exposure. It’s dealing with that and then waiting for his opportunity while keeping his head. He’ll have a lot of people in his ear. All those things contribute to how you handle success and when it comes early that can be difficult. We’ll try and guide him and educate him as best we can.”
Miguel Almiron was on the scoresheet as Newcastle earned a second successive draw in the Premier League Summer Series. Nicolas Jackson put Chelsea ahead early on but Almiron levelled, to the delight of the crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium - where he starred for Atlanta United before his move to Newcastle.
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