Newcastle United U21s boss Elliott Dickman has urged the academy prospects selected by Eddie Howe to train with the first team in Saudi Arabia to 'make an impression'. Lewis Miley, Dylan Stephenson, Jay Turner-Cooke, Joe White and captain Alex Murphy have joined the senior setup as the Magpies prepare for the season to resume after the World Cup.
The squad arrived in Riyadh on Sunday, and were put through their paces in a training session at Al Hilal Saudi Club Stadium the following day. Newcastle face Al Hilal in a friendly on Thursday, before facing La Liga outfit Rayo Vallecano at St James' Park four days before their Carabao Cup clash with Bournemouth.
The five academy prospects are no strangers to Howe and his coaching staff, with all of them previously enjoying first-team training sessions. Dickman has expressed his delight at the 'dream' opportunity each of them has been handed, and has urged them to seize the chance with both hands.
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He told ChronicleLive: "It's invaluable really, they're working with one of the best coaches in the Premier League. For me, I would imagine it should be any young boy's dream, that opportunity to go and be with the first-team players and staff.
"It's a different voice for them, and Eddie and his team are one of the best from a coaching point of view in the country. It's a good opportunity for these lads to hopefully make an impression in a positive way. They've been given a chance to go, they've got to take it and make sure they impress the manager and the rest of his staff."
The call-ups for the warm weather training camp led to Dickman naming six changes for the young Magpies home defeat to Sheffield United U21s on Monday night. Leo Gaxha scored the only goal of the game to seal an early Premier League Cup exit for the hosts.
It means Newcastle U21s have now lost their last six matches in all competitions, including a 2-1 defeat to the same opponents in the reverse fixture last week. Dickman has previously questioned his team's character on the back of heavy losses, but believes there are positives to build upon from two hard-fought encounters with the Blades.
The U21s boss said: "You know what you're going to get from a team like Sheffield United. I think we probably didn't match what they were about first half, we dominated the second half but we just didn't get that rub of green you sometimes need in and around the box.
"I think there's been plenty of positives from the last two games, I think we take away the individual errors last week for the goals, and even today [Monday] we could have maybe done a bit better with their goal. There's not a lot between the sides.
"Of course we don't want to go out [of the Premier League Cup] without managing to get at least a point on the board, but ultimately the main thing is we need to see improvements in our performances. I think we are getting there, there's a number of players who have gone away with the first team which is fantastic for them and their development.
"That's good for them, and it gives opportunities for others to play tonight. It's disappointing to lose, but we've managed to still play quite well in the second half and that's the pleasing thing."
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