Newcastle United are set to give academy starlet Dylan Stephenson a new contract to stay at St James’ Park.
What’s the story?
Writing initially on Twitter, journalist Mark Carruthers revealed: “Newcastle are set to hand a new contract to one of their brightest prospects as EFL, National League and Scottish clubs show an interest in a possible loan deal next season.”
Then, in a follow-up article for Newcastle World, he added: “Negotiations over a second senior deal have been ongoing over the last three months and they are now are set to come to a successful conclusion with Stephenson signing a contract to tie him down until the the end of the 2023/24 season.
“Discussions have also set out the next steps of his career and Newcastle World understands there is a strong possibility a loan move away from Newcastle will be secured over the summer.” Exciting prospect for Newcastle
With the versatility to be able to play anywhere across the front-line, Stephenson has already captured attentions behind-the-scenes in his time with the academy, with the club’s U18 manager, Neil Winskill, left hailing him after a stunning hat-trick against Leeds United in the FA Youth Cup last season.
He said: “I’m thrilled for Dylan because he is such an honest, hard-working lad. He’s the type of player any team would like to have in their XI, who’s going to really put a shift in for you.
“Every game and training session, the physical stats come through and he’s always top of the charts but we had a chat during the week about the need for him to be consistent with his quality, and he spoke to me about how he thinks people will judge him on goals.”
The Magpies haven’t had much success in seeing an academy product really establish themselves as a genuine Premier League star, or even a main-stay in the first-team, with Sean Longstaff the closest to matching that description.In Stephenson, they appear to have someone who is set for a very bright future, and news that he is set to commit his long-term career at St James’ Park is sure to have fans buzzing.AND in other news: Sold at £2.2m, now worth £90m: Ashley had a big NUFC disaster on “unstoppable” wizard