Eddie Howe amazed by ‘magnificent’ Newcastle player he actually wanted to rest today

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Eddie Howe has issued his verdict on the performance of Lewis Miley as he admitted that he wanted to rest the Newcastle United youngster for the clash with Fulham.

It was Lewis Miley who opened the scoring for the Magpies against the Cottagers. The 17-year-old came off the bench for Joelinton in the first-half at St James’ Park.

Miley has been a revelation since coming into the Newcastle side. But of course, the Magpies squad has been decimated by injuries. And those who were not on the sidelines have been pushed and pushed due to Eddie Howe simply not having the numbers to make wholesale changes.

Eddie Howe praises Lewis Miley after Newcastle win

But Miley is certainly making the most of the opportunity. And he managed to really impress his manager after his performance against Fulham today.

“He’s come into the team and been magnificent. He’s deserved to keep his place. We wanted to rest him today, someone so young, and today he got his rewards. His overall performance level has been so high,” he told BBC Sport.

“Players were fatigued today. You could see we were trying to manage our load. I’m so pleased with the players.

“The emotional load is just as important as the physical load. We have a couple of big players coming back who can make a big difference for us.”

Youngster has proved he’s ready for first-team football on Tyneside

Of course, Howe will be wary of asking too much of Miley at this stage of his career. It is a huge task to come in at a time when Newcastle could easily crumble.

He has also already taken part in some massive games, including Wednesday’s crucial clash with AC Milan in the Champions League.

That is only going to stand him in good stead for the coming years. But what he has definitely done is stake to claim to remain in and around the first-team fold once Howe has the large majority of his squad back.

He is proving that he can already cut it in the Premier League. And he got his rewards against Fulham as he bagged the first goal in his professional career.

The first of many, no doubt.