Youngster ‘will not move to Magpies’

Feb 28 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

GARY Madine will not be the next young talent to join Newcastle United, according to the teenager’s current club, Carlisle United.

This season the Magpies have adopted a policy of recruiting the best youths from around the world to make up for the shortcomings in their own academy.

It began under Sam Allardyce and has stepped up a gear since the appointments of Dennis Wise, Jeff Vetere and Tony Jimenez, who have a brief to identify and recruit the best players from other club’s youth systems.

United are following the lead of clubs such as Arsenal and trying to spot players before their talents are more widely recognised. Englishman Ben Tozer, Hungarian Tamas Kadar, French-born Wesley Ngo Baheng, Italian Fabio Zamblera and Swede Ole Soderberg all joined at the turn of the year as part of the process.

Madine, however, will not be joining them according to the Cumbrians. The Gateshead-born striker was linked with a move to St James’s Park yesterday, but his current club were quick to quash the rumours.

“Two Premier League clubs have been monitoring him this season but they have gone about it correctly so they will remain nameless,” explained Eric Kinder, who is in charge of youth development at Brunton Park. “Someone is just rumour-mongering with Newcastle being his home-town club.”

Madine shot to prominence as part of the Carlisle team which knocked Manchester United out of this season’s FA Youth Cup. He has been rewarded with a place on the bench for the first team and a professional contract.

Meanwhile, Alan Shearer believes Newcastle’s current first-team squad will finally start to show their worth under Kevin Keegan at the weekend now they have their full compliment of strikers back.

Obafemi Martins and Mark Viduka are expected to return from ankle and hamstring injuries respectively when United take on another of Shearer’s former clubs, Blackburn Rovers, at St James’s on Saturday. Keegan is yet to record the first win of his second spell as Newcastle manager, but former captain Shearer thinks that may be about to change.

“For the first time this weekend he could have a full squad to pick from with his centre-forwards – (Michael) Owen, Viduka, Martins, (Alan) Smith, (Shola) Ameobi and the young lad coming through Andy Carroll,” he said.

“The strikers they have would trouble any defence. Mark Viduka has been a miss being injured, and hopefully he will be back for Saturday and give them an extra dimension.”

Such has been his form in another injury-hit season that Owen has lost his England place. His former team-mate is philosophical about the former Liverpool and Real Madrid forward’s problems, however.

“Michael needs chances,” he reasoned. “He needs everyone around to create them. At the moment they are not scoring goals and not creating chances, which is disappointing, but if they get everyone fit you’ll see them creating and Michael scoring.

“I speak to him now and again but he doesn’t need anyone to tell him what to do. He’s been in this position before and he’ll be in it again after he’s been on a goal-scoring run. That is the life of a centre-forward.”

There was more good news on the injury front with defender Peter Ramage expected to return to training on Monday after a serious knee injury, much to Keegan’s delight.

“Peter’s been working really hard to get fit again after such a bad injury,” he told the club’s official website. “I’ve been very impressed with the work he’s put in at the training ground. He’s really desperate to be a part of things. He’s in line to join the squad in full training again soon. That’s still a way away from being able to play, however.

“We’ll see how he goes in training and then maybe look at getting him a run-out in a reserve game in due course.”