NEWCASTLE NOTEBOOK: Toon talent spotter set for promotion in wake of Dan Ashworth’s exit, new stadium plans suffer a blow… and former winger misses out on academy role

Newcastle are eyeing a summer deal for Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly, and the man continuing talks could be ready for a new role at the club.

Steve Nickson is the current head of recruitment, but following the departure of Dan Ashworth we understand he will be considered for a new role as sporting director/director of football.

Some thought the former school teacher would be shown the door by the club’s new owner after their arrival in 2021. He was associated with the Mike Ashley regime and had overseen the club-record £40m signing of Joelinton at the time. a failed forward movement.

However, the new owners quickly recognized Nickson’s work ethic and attention to detail. They believed he could work well with both hands loose, and so it proved.

The 59-year-old has built a close relationship with Eddie Howe and the owners and, coupled with excellent signings such as Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman, Alexander Isak and Kieran Trippier, Joelinton’s emergence as a key player has vindicated his initial view. from the Brazilian.

Dan Ashworth has been placed on gardening leave due to interest from Manchester United

We’re told there would be support from several people inside if Nickson were to take over a sporting director’s recruitment department.

The process for filling the position(s) will be thorough and has not yet begun. There has also been talk of former Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell.

Meanwhile, conversations with Kelly’s camp continue in the background. The 25-year-old defender is out of contract this summer and would be a smart signing for Newcastle in an FFP world. However, there is competition from Milan and clubs from Germany.

Quay disappeared to the kingdom?

An important piece of news that could impact Newcastle’s potential plans to build a new stadium in the city.

Homes England has acquired the Quayside West location. The government website describes it as ‘The largest plot in Forth Yards, one of Newcastle’s most important brownfield regeneration sites’. There are plans for 1,100 new homes.

This area, located near Central Station and Quayside, would be a major contender for a new stadium if Newcastle wanted to retain its city center location.

Could this force the club’s hand to make a bid for the venue?

Click here to read our article about a possible stadium move.

Future stars lost

Carabao Cup winner Bobby Clark’s rise to fame at Liverpool has not been lost on many around and close to the club, as he left Newcastle in 2021 at the age of 16.

The midfielder, now 19 and son of former Toon favorite Lee, would likely have made more than 20 appearances for his boyhood team this season had he still been at the club. He left believing his development was better served at Anfield.

That would also be the case with Ollie Harrison. The 16-year-old midfielder was recently on the bench at Chelsea at Manchester City, after deciding to quit the Magpies last summer. His father, Stephen, was a respected coach at Newcastle’s academy but has since left for Middlesbrough.

It was Ashworth who tried to persuade Harrison to stay before jumping ship himself last month. Did the sporting director really believe the vision of Newcastle he was selling?

Regardless, the departure of promising players and key staff members indicates that there is still a lot of work to be done behind the scenes.

Solano misses a role in the academy

One man who won’t get a job at the academy – at least not yet – is former Newcastle star Nobby Solano.

The Peruvian, a technical wizard and veteran of 750 career matches, applied for the Under-16 management vacancy. This arose when former Newcastle player Ian Bogie was told by the club in January that his time was up.

Former Newcastle star Nobby Solano applied for the under-16s manager vacancy

Solano, Peru’s assistant boss at the 2018 World Cup, was interviewed for the job but missed out, we understand, not for technical reasons but because of his knowledge of coaching software used on computers.

We’re looking forward to an Apple Mac curling one into the top corner at the next Newcastle youth team match.

Good luck, Matty

The Longstaff brothers, Sean and Matty, have been a success story in the academy in recent years – and it was great to see Matty sign for Toronto FC in the MLS this week, news shared by Mail Sport.

Matty Longstaff has left Newcastle and signed for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC

The 23-year-old suffered a serious knee injury on Boxing Day 2022 while on loan at Colchester. His contract expired at Newcastle that summer, but the club helped him with his rehabilitation and he is now fully fit again.

We wish him all the best, a genuinely good boy.

Bruno’s UK tour

You feared Bruno Guimaraes had missed the bus in Blackburn on Tuesday night when he was spotted leaving the stadium without his teammates.

Had he been stopped for a drug test? No, Howe had given his players the next day off and Bruno, ever the tourist, took the opportunity to visit another city in Britain.

You can never accuse the Brazilian of not immersing himself in our culture.

Show Teaser…

It’s Toon Teaser time. Last week I asked you a little piece of the puzzle, after a Newcastle employee wanted to test us reporters before Friday’s press conference.

We need to review that one first… because the answer was incomplete! A fact noted by an attentive reader.

The question was: Thirty-three players have taken penalties for Newcastle in the Premier League. Only four of them have never scored from the spot for Newcastle. Name the four.

Newcastle’s players celebrate their victory over Blackburn in a penalty shootout on Tuesday evening

There are actually five! Andy Cole. Kennedy. Joe Willock. Joselu. And the missing man… Loic Remy, who made a mistake against Stoke on Boxing Day 2013.

Here’s this week’s question: Name the four goalkeepers who won penalty shootouts with Newcastle (clue: one of them was this week…). I have 3/4.

The answer will be revealed on Friday evening at 8pm on our new NUFC dedicated WhatsApp channel.

It’s free and available HERE