Newcastle United need repeat of exciting transfer recruitment drive as 13 bid farewell

Newcastle United know they need another summer of shrewd youth recruitment after allowing 13 youngsters to depart when their deals run out in June. The Magpies confirmed their academy retained list on Thursday, bidding farewell to a number of prospects once battling to catch Eddie Howe's eye.

Ben Dawson's under-21 setup has been decimated with Amadou Diallo, Michael Ndiweni, Will Brown, Jude Smith, Jordan Hackett, Matthew Bondswell, Lucas De Bolle, Kyle Crossley, Dylan Stephenson, Shaun Mavididi and Rodrigo Vilca all set to depart. Under-18 stars Taylor Ross and Carter Milmore are also leaving.

Academy Director Steve Harper said: “I would like to thank all of the players who are leaving for their efforts throughout their time with the Academy. They have all grown as players and people during their time here and should be incredibly proud of everything they have achieved representing Newcastle United.

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Outgoing sporting director Dan Ashworth helped Newcastle land some top prospects this time last year, with the north east outfit beating their Premier League rivals to up and coming teenage talent across a number of age groups.

Liverpool and Manchester United were pushed aside as Wolverhampton Wanderers starlet Leo Shahar arrived on Tyneside. The right-back, 17, earned early promotion to Dawson's under-21 side and is a regular at youth level for England.

Shahar this week suffered a quarter-final exit at the Under-17 European Championship. The Newcastle ace has been a regular starter during the tournament, impressing through the rounds.

There is also hope for fellow youngster Trevan Sanusi who again snubbed bigger clubs in favour of a new challenge at Newcastle. The tricky winger, compared to a young Allan Saint-Maximin, left Birmingham City to much fanfare and is expected to gain under-21 and potentially senior minutes next season.

Travis Hernes is another expected to play a part in Howe's senior squad in the coming months after his recent inclusion in the trip to Australia. The central midfielder arrived from Shrewsbury Town on deadline day last summer and was a rare positive as Newcastle's young guns were hammered 8-0 by an A-League All Star XI last week.

15-year-old Kacey Wooster and 14-year-old Michael Mills arrived from Southend United and Port Vale respectively and are tipped for exciting futures. 14-year-old Sam Alabi last month made his debut for the club's under-18 side.

Ashworth is currently on gardening leave and will play no part in any Newcastle recruitment this summer. It is expected the mechanisms will already be in place for the current Magpies transfer team to continue to club's shrewd work when it comes to seeking out exciting academy talent.