Where once it felt closed, the door now seems wide open. That’s how one Newcastle United insider described the pathway that has been blasted clear for NUFC’s NXT Gen.
And while under-21 head coach Elliott Dickman believes the door has always been ajar for those with the talents, it’s clear to see there’s a queue forming on Tyneside - with Matthias Jaissle the beneficiary.
As Newcastle’s under-21s ran out comprehensive winners over Luton Town on Friday night at the Blue Flames, it wasn’t just the usual crowd of scouts, families and die-hards in attendance. Nestled just along from club legend Peter Beardsley and academy director Steve Harper, just before you reach the youth lads not on duty, sat two rather significant figures, wrapped up to the eyeballs as the first howls of winter swept across Benton. While the main man was hard at work prepping for an assault on the West Midlands and the Premier League top four, two of Jaissle’s trusted lieutenants watched on with a keen eye. And it sounds like Engin Yanova and Florens Koch enjoyed what they saw.