Newcastle United fans will see Freddie Woodman, Jamie Sterry and Sean Longstaff make rare appearances for the club while Florian Lejeune is set for his comeback from injury in some exciting early team news against Blackburn on Saturday, according to journalist Craig Hope.
The Daily Mail reporter claims on his personal Twitter account that the young homegrown trio will be given the chance to shine, highly rated goalkeeper Woodman making just his second senior appearance after his debut at the same stage of the FA Cup last season, while Lejeune makes his first outing of the campaign after a long-term injury layoff.
Looks like Florian Lejeune, Jamie Sterry, Sean Longstaff and Freddie Woodman all set to start for much changed NUFC today.
— Craig Hope (@CraigHope_DM) January 5, 2019
The Frenchman was a mainstay for Newcastle last season and was a standout performer at the heart of the defence.
Opinion
This is really exciting for all the fans heading to St James’ Park on Saturday, with the opportunity to see some of their future talents alongside men who have not been seen much, if at all, this season. Lejeune’s return to action is a massive boost to Rafael Benitez’s squad, the former Eibar man having developed a quality partnership with Jamaal Lascelles last season. With two more options at the heart of defence coming in over the summer, there is serious competition for a place in the starting XI but that will only drive up the performances of the five senior options at centre back. As for Woodman, he has been very patient over his lack of football and this is his opportunity to prove his worth between the sticks. A loan exit still seems a sensible move for the Magpies but should he star against Blackburn he could well cement his place as second choice on Tyneside.