Newcastle United youngster Lewis Miley has not joined up with England's U17 setup as the injuries pile up for Eddie Howe on Tyneside. The Magpies are without Sean Longstaff in the middle of the park, while Jacob Murphy remains a doubt for Thursday's clash with Brighton and Matt Ritchie's season is over following a knee problem.
Newcastle are light on numbers heading into three crucial Premier League games and Miley may be about to receive some eagerly-anticipated first-team minutes after impressing behind the scenes at Darsley Park.
The 17-year-old signed his first senior contract with Newcastle earlier this month and has earned high praise from coaching staff and Eddie Howe of late. Miley made his senior debut in December's Diriyah Cup clash in Saudi Arabia and has earned a spot on the bench in Premier League games in recent months.
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The England U17 squad jetted to Hungary earlier this week and will get their European Championship campaign under way on Thursday as they face Croatia, before clashes with the Netherlands and Switzerland in the coming days. Miley impressed U17 coach Ryan Garry back in March but won't be joining the likes of Manchester City's Isaiah Dada-Mascoll, Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly or Chelsea's Kiano Dyer and Michael Golding in England's midfield.
Newcastle have started to add young talent to their youth ranks, with the likes of Charlie McArthur, Jude Smith, Alex Murphy and Reece Byrne joining Ben Dawson's U21 side in the last 12 months. Thought it is Miley who is seen as the Newcastle youngster with the most potential in the short term.
"I'm in a difficult position because I can only promote players through the academy that I feel are good enough to play in the Premier League and that's such a difficult journey to go on," Howe said earlier this month.
"Lewis has got an amazing chance to do that. At his age, he's got all the attributes and now he needs a little bit of luck and to continue on the path he's on with the great work he's already done."
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