OPINION
Newcastle United have two problems which you can be sure that manager Rafael Benitez would love to fix during his time on Tyneside.
First up is the club’s dreadful rate of producing young, homegrown talents which have made their way into the first team.
Of the 18 players included in the matchday squad versus Bournemouth, only Paul Dummett had spent time in the Magpies’ youth system, something which the club should really be quite ashamed about.
The second problem for Newcastle is the lack of firepower up top – Salomon Rondon easing the pressure before the international break with his brilliant brace against the Cherries.
Behind the Venezuelan there is a lack of quality and should the West Brom loanee get injured, it falls to Joselu or Yoshinori Muto to lead the line.
One man who has been turning heads on Tyneside is teenage hitman Elias Sorensen and with 15 goals in as many appearances for the reserve side, it is easy to see why.
His red hot form has led to many suggesting he is worth throwing into the senior side and while that would be a huge gamble to take, it is not the daftest of ideas.
However that seems hugely unlikely, with Chronicle journalist Chris Waugh claiming in a live question and answer (14/11, 12:36) that Benitez is looking for him to pick up senior action elsewhere before giving him a chance at St James’ Park – a blunder which will have the supporters tearing their hair out.
The Toon Army have seen the likes of Adam Armstrong fail to make the grade on loan and eventually see their Newcastle career come to an end, and making the same mistake again is unforgivable.
His form warrants a senior squad role – even if that is just training with the first team on a regular basis, and he would learn more behind the scenes with Benitez than he would at a league team.
The Magpies have made errors over their youngsters before – Sorensen cannot go the same way.