Whoever is hired as Director of Football for Newcastle United will be wading through a pile of urgent tasks from the minute they arrive, but one task is particularly pressing: getting young players into the first team.
A good example of what a youth pipeline can bring a club can be seen at Leeds , Newcastle United’s opponents this coming Saturday, where manager Marcelo Bielsa is blooding young talent every week amid their injury crisis. Those motivated, driven young players have played a vital role in the club climbing to apparent safety.
Last weekend, in their 3-2 win away to West Ham, there was a Premier League debut for 18-year-old centre-back Leo Hjelde, who played for 67 minutes. The week before, in the FA Cup, also against West Ham, he played for 78 minutes.
