So far, Eddie Howe‘s tenure at Newcastle United has been nothing short of a triumph – though there’s certainly plenty still to be achieved at St. James’ Park.
Recent results this season have restored the feel-good factor and got fans looking toward the upper end of the division, hoping to reclaim their place among Europe’s elite after injuries ruined the 2023/24 campaign.
While the improvements over the past several years focus prominently on the first team’s gains, the Tyneside academy ranks are starting to take shape too.
Newcastle’s new-found academy success
Lewis Miley is the cream of the academy crop, for sure. The 18-year-old midfielder featured heavily last season with age-belying style and confidence as he compensated for his side’s injuries.
Elliot Anderson also made his mark, and though he had been hailed for his “phenomenal” talent by former Bristol Rovers teammate Alex Rodman, PSR problems brooded over the city and his sale was a necessary evil this summer.
Still, signing for Nottingham Forest in a deal worth £35m, Anderson’s rise and the gains made by the United academy were underscored.
The Magpies are learning to nurture their prized teenagers and either push them toward the fore or audition their skill level to enable a high-priced transfer away.
Mistakes were made in the past, though, with Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier being a prime example, having started out life in the Magpies academy, before moving to Middlesbrough in 2013.
How Marcus Tavernier compares to Anthony Gordon
Howe has a talented group of players but a creative asset like Tavernier could have gone down a treat. Newcastle are a slick attacking force but Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sean Longstaff have combined to create just 2.1 key passes per top-flight fixture this year, as per Sofascore.
Instrumental for Bournemouth, a fierce attacking unit under Andoni Iraola, Tavernier ranks among the top 5% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League this season for shot-creating actions and the top 15% for progressive passes and tackles per 90, as per FBref, showcasing the creative and rounded qualities that could have made a real impression at Newcastle.
A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.
Tavernier is an important member of Bournemouth’s Premier League squad, but his performances at Boro in the Championship had already earned him praise, with reporter Dominic Shaw hailing his attributes: “Versatile, brave in possession, tireless, influential.”
Now, he’s taking loping strides toward the ceiling of his potential, demonstrating some impressive playmaking numbers this season. As per Sofascore, the 25-year-old has averaged 2.1 key passes per Premier League game this term, racking up two assists from nine starts and scoring one goal too.
Marcus Tavernier: Premier League Stats (AFCB) by Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Season | Apps | Goals | Assists |
2024/25 | 11 | 1 | 2 |
2023/24 | 30 | 3 | 4 |
2022/23 | 23 | 5 | 4 |
Stats via Transfermarkt | |||
2.1 key passes per game is a respectable creative return, and indeed, this equals the primary midfield triumvirate at Newcastle this season. Of course, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and the Magpies’ engine room is robust and protean in its production, but the quality that Howe’s side have perhaps missed out on is underscored all the same.
Offering much to Bournemouth’s fluency and drive, you might even say that Tavernier is outperforming certain Newcastle members this season – with Anthony Gordon among them.
While Gordon has been a little bit more creative with his overall play this term, Tavernier has matched him for goal contributions and big chances created since the summer.
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Moreover, the £35k-per-week talent is outperforming Gordon in both shot-creating actions (5.38 per 90 vs 4.15 per 90) and crosses (6.18 per 90 vs 5.21 per 90) in the top flight, as per FBref, which attests to his technical ability and eagerness to drive attacking sequences forward, as the architect. Indeed, Tavernier ranks tenth and seventh in the division for those two metrics, respectively.
Newcastle have hit the jackpot many times across the past several years, but losing a key creative component in the making, Tavernier, was not one of them.
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