Eddie Howe reveals emergence of 'unique' teenage star Lewis Miley could change Newcastle's plans to cover for banned Sandro Tonali

Eddie Howe says he has never seen a 17-year-old be thrown into such high-profile matches and perform like Lewis Miley, and the emergence of the ‘unique’ academy star could change Newcastle’s plans to sign cover for Sandro Tonali in January.

The midfielder made his full home debut in the Premier League against Chelsea last month and followed up by playing 90 minutes versus Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United. Howe’s side won both domestic games and were only denied victory in Paris by a controversial injury-time penalty.

Miley was outstanding in all three and is again set to start when Newcastle travel to Everton on Thursday. His performances could, admits Howe, alter the club’s thinking with regards New Year transfer business, when a move for Kalvin Phillips was expected as replacement for Tonali, who is banned until August after breaking gambling rules.

‘Sandro is a huge part of our squad and when he’s missing for such a long time, you naturally think that is an area we’ll have to look at,’ said Howe. ‘But a lot depends how we look injury wise come January. Right now, we would recruit every position! Hopefully, we’ll have players back and the squad will look very different.

‘Lewis has certainly done himself no harm by playing more football, and especially his level of performance against Manchester United. That would have been the hardest game for him mentally, because it came off the back of a tough week. But it speaks volumes for how good he is that it was his best performance. He was still running at the end like he was at the start.’

And what of the opposition, Chelsea, PSG and Man United?

‘It’s not bad, is it?’ said Howe. ‘I’ve never seen a 17-year-old do that. But nothing totally surprises me from what we saw pre-season. You can't judge a player by his age, I judge by what I see and, right now, he is looking strong and has been unfazed by everything he has encountered.

‘I just hope he continues to go from strength to strength, and I see no reason why he can’t keep the high levels he has already shown.’

Miley has been used in a No.8 role, but Howe believes he is good enough to operate in any of the midfield positions.

‘At the moment, he’s better higher up the pitch where he’s able to run and play with a bit more freedom,’ said the head coach. ‘The ‘6’ is such a tactical position. In the future, he can be a ‘6’ for us, without a doubt, but it needs a bit more development.

‘Does he remind me of anyone? I think he’s got a little bit of everything in him. He’s got goals, control, the technical ability. He’s unique, and we’re delighted to have him.’

Howe, meanwhile, confirmed that goalkeeper Nick Pope will need surgery after dislocating his shoulder in the 1-0 win over Man United and will be missing for four months.

Mail Sport revealed on Monday that the club could look to free agent David de Gea as cover in January, but Martin Dubravka will first be given a chance to shine.

Howe said: ‘I've seen a lot of the media headlines and press speculation regarding goalkeepers and other players. 

'We have not made any enquiries or any decisions about our recruitment leading into January.

‘We really believe in Martin and I've always had that high opinion of him. He is a high-class goalkeeper. He's a brilliant shot-stopper, he's very good with his feet and his distribution, so there was no hesitation about bringing Martin into the team, and I hope he does really well.’