Newcastle United: 5 Youngsters Who Could Make a Big Impact This Season

Opportunities for youngsters to break through the ranks to their senior squads may be growing fewer by the season in the Premier League, but Newcastle United are hoping to buck that trend.

Having a healthy crop of talented young players at your disposal can play a vital part in the top flight, and despite today’s inflated transfer market, there are a number knocking on the first-team door at St. James’ Park.

Current stars Tim Krul, Steven Taylor and Shola Ameobi are all products of the Magpies’ academy system, as are England internationals Andy Carroll and Fraser Forster.

And as the club continue to prepare for the new 2013-14 season, we take a look at five names that could make a big impression if they’re handed their chance over the coming months.

Bradden Inman

Australian-born Bradden Inman has already got a taste for first-team football after a successful loan spell with Crewe Alexandra in League One last season.

The central midfielder, who has been on Newcastle United’s books since he was 14, played 26 times for The Railwaymen last term and helped himself to eight goals.

Yet to make a senior appearance for the Magpies, Inman, who has represented Scotland at Under-21 level despite being born in Adelaide, would love to make the breakthrough this term.

But his immediate future is still up in the air, with the youngster mulling over the offer of a new contract from manager Alan Pardew, as reported by Lee Ryder in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.

According to Peter Morse from the Crewe Chronicle, Alex boss Steve Davis is hoping to sign the 21-year-old on a permanent basis. If he opts to stay on Tyneside, however, Inman will seek assurances that his big chance will come during the 2013-14 campaign.

Adam Campbell

Local boy Adam Campbell is no stranger to Newcastle United’s first-team squad, but has yet to make a senior start for the club he joined as a 10-year-old back in 2005.

Plucked from the renowned Wallsend Boys Club, who helped to produce Magpies legends Peter Beardsley and Alan Shearer, Campbell is tipped for greatness and has been compared to Wayne Rooney in the past.

His brief cameos last season saw the 18-year-old gain experience in Europe as well as the Premier League, and Alan Pardew is a big fan of the lively centre-forward.

Should the manager land his main strike targets this summer, a loan move could be in the offing for the Geordie, and as the Newcastle Evening Chronicle’s Lee Ryder reports, there is already interest from the Championship as well as Scotland.

Paul Dummett

Defender Paul Dummett has already made quite an impact during Newcastle United’s preseason campaign and has earned the praise of Alan Pardew in the process.

As reported in the Hartlepool Mail, the Magpies’ boss has even hinted that the 21-year-old could rival regular left-back Davide Santon over the coming months.

The Welsh Under-21 international gained invaluable experience north of the border last season on loan at St. Mirren and helped The Buddies lift the Scottish League Cup in March this year.

And in an interview with The Journal’s Neil Cameron, Dummett said: “Last year, whenever I got the chance to play with the first team, I was a lot more nervous. I do feel confident and a lot of that has come from what the manager has said to me. I’m more confident about showing and asking for the ball in training than I was before.”

Haris Vuckic

The name Haris Vuckic is not a new one for Newcastle United fans, but such have been the extent of his injuries over the past few seasons that his appearances have become few and far between.

The skillful playmaker has featured in both the Championship and Premier League for the Magpies, but his latest absence was the result of a serious knee injury picked up while playing for United’s reserves.

The 20-year-old Slovenian international possesses a keen eye for goal, and his ability to shoot from distance has already made the club’s supporters sit up and take notice.

He has already found the net in preseason in a 4-2 win at Motherwell, and given his recent run of bad luck, there are few players who deserve a chance at St. James’ Park as much as Vuckic.

Curtis Good

It was during a short spell with his hometown club Melbourne Heart that Curtis Good caught the eye of Newcastle United, and his performances in Australia’s A-League earned him a move to the Magpies.

The 20-year-old found his chances limited following his arrival in the North-East last summer, but a loan move to Bradford City soon sparked his season into life.

Good was part of the Bantams side that made it all the way to Wembley in the League Cup, and he played in the final against Swansea before their promotion to League One via the play-offs in May.

And the central defender will be hoping his experiences at Valley Parade will stand him in good stead now he’s back at Newcastle ahead of the new 2013-14 campaign.