Everyone knows that Newcastle United wanted another striker in January.
Yes, £25 million was spent on signing Chris Wood from Burnley earlier in the winter transfer window.
But with Callum Wilson sidelined and the New Zealand international not exactly being a Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of prolific goalscorer, Eddie Howe needed additional options.
Newcastle were linked with Anthony Martial – who joined Sevilla – and then a deadline day move for Hugo Ekitike failed to materialise.
However, there could potentially be a silver lining.
The Magpies’ failure to give Wood some striking competition has reportedly forced Howe to look in the academy setup.
And according to The Chronicle, Howe has promoted 18-year-old Michael Ndiweni to senior training.
Ndiweni has netted 12 goals at Under-18 level this season and it looks like the Newcastle manager has been impressed.
Will he play?
Well, that’s another question entirely.
And honestly, probably not.
Ndiweni is eligible to play in the Premier League for Newcastle but it would take a lot of fortitude for Howe to actually utilise him.
This is because despite a brilliant January transfer window, the Tyneside outfit are still scrapping for their Premier League lives this season.
Dropping down into the Championship wouldn’t be a massive shock, even with the likes of Bruno Guimaraes in the squad now, and therefore Howe would surely bank on his tried-and-tested senior players.
Experimenting with youngsters at this time would be insanity, you have to say.
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