There is nothing quite like watching a young boy break into the team he has supported all his life, but for Newcastle United’s Lewis Miley, this should just be the start of things.
There is a boyish enthusiasm about Miley; a young man living out the same dream so many watching at St James’ Park once shared of playing for their club.
When he scored in front of the Gallowgate End against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, the celebration was beautiful. It was an explosion of joyful innocence, an almost childish euphoria as he ran around in a circle with a beaming smile. It may have been his third goal for Newcastle but he still could not quite believe what had happened.
This, though, is a boy who is rapidly turning into a man. According to his manager Eddie Howe, the 18-year-old has the talent and the potential to be “anything he wants to be” and even compared him to a young Steven Gerrard.
There have been plenty of young English midfielders thrown into a sentence with the legendary former Liverpool and England captain. They have tended to be premature at best.
But in Miley Newcastle do have a special talent and Howe rarely lavishes praise on a player like he did with the midfielder ahead of his side’s visit to Anfield on Wednesday night.
“He can be anything that he wants to be,” said Howe, who is normally cautious when speaking about young players. “He could really take a position, solidify a position and be outstanding for us for a number of years.
“I think that [what type of player he becomes] ultimately depends what position he ends up playing.
“For us on Sunday, he played as [a] No 8, box-to-box. We want energy, sprinting, we want a lot of physical output in that position. As a No 6, he would play with a little bit more control on that physical side of his game.
“Steven Gerrard, I think, is a great one to look at, because I think Steven had that same frame Lewis possesses. He had that yard of pace, he could go box-to-box and he could score goals.
“It’s great to see Lewie contribute goal-wise – that’s two goals [this season] in a short period of time and showing that he can do that part of the game, which he’s going to need to do in that position.”
Miley looked like a boy playing in a men’s team during his first season. He did brilliantly, excelling in the Champions League against Paris St-Germain away, more than holding his own domestically too.
He made 26 appearances last term but a back injury in March stalled his progress. It has taken him a while to regain it, but Miley is stronger, taller and fitter now.
That has a lot to do with the ugly side of being a professional athlete. He has put the hours in, working in the gym and out on the pitch. Newcastle’s strength and conditioning staff have done an excellent job but the arrival of a new performance director, James Bunce, in the summer has also helped.
“We have to remember how young he is,” explained Howe. “When he played the number of games that he did last year, he looked like he was coping with the load with ease, there looked to be no strain on his body.
“At 17-years-old, he developed a back problem, which was a big blow at that stage. So, we need to recognise that fact, look after him with the utmost care at this moment in time in his career because has the look of a guy in his early 20s.
“He’s filled out, he looks stronger, quicker, but he’s still going through growth spurts and his body will still be changing on a daily basis. We need to have that in mind all the time.”
The ceiling, though, is extraordinarily high. The pundits on BBC’s MotD2 on Sunday night waxed lyrical about Miley’s performance against Forest, identifying a player who always wants the ball and never stops running.
It was a performance that displayed a growing maturity, yet Howe will protect him and will still work relentlessly on his game. He will not be allowed to think he has arrived as a top player until he is doing it every week.
Indeed, he may well return to the bench against Liverpool with Italy international Sandro Tonali fit again.
“He is going to need a bit of luck, he needs to stay fit and remain injury free,” added Howe. “That’s why I say we have to look after him. Especially in this early moment in his career. That is so important and I take that duty very seriously
“But he has all the technical capabilities and, most importantly, all the mental capabilities. He has already shown that. He has played some huge games, but he has played them as normally as he does in training and that is a huge compliment .
“He has a little bit of everything. He’s got the running capacity, the big lungs that enable him to produce what he needs to produce in those positions.
“He is very composed in training, he is one of our best technical players . He has a really bright future, but he will have all the pitfalls that young players have. He has to stay humble, he has to stay level, he needs to concentrate on his training, he needs to listen to his coaches and take on a lot of information that he will get and take it step by step.”
