Sean Neave is the champion you have never heard of — and never even seen play. Nobody has at first-team level.
There Neave is at Wembley on March 16, in the background below, three months shy of his 18th birthday, having been named in only his third senior matchday squad and yet to make an appearance.
Yet, as Darren Eales, Newcastle United’s chief executive, lifts the Carabao Cup aloft, behind him is Neave with a gold winners’ medal dangling around his neck.
Sean Neave looks on as Darren Eales celebrates with the trophy (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
For any teenage prodigy, that represents a remarkable start to a career. But when you consider Neave is a boyhood Newcastle fan, the tale becomes truly unprecedented.
This is a club that had failed to lift domestic silverware for 70 years and, for more than three-quarters of Neave’s life, had displayed an almost contemptuous attitude towards knockout competitions.
“It’s been my dream to play for Newcastle,” Neave declared upon signing his first professional contract last July. Nine weeks on from Newcastle’s historic 2-1 triumph over Liverpool, Neave is still yet to do so, despite possessing one of the medals which immediately transformed players into bona fide club legends.
“For Sean to be involved in the cup win as an under-18 was incredible,” Steve Harper, Newcastle’s academy director, tells The Athletic. “He was high as a kite. We don’t want to put pressure on him because he’s still a young man, but we hope he goes on and does well.”
Neave is young, inexperienced and physically slight. However, he has already caught Eddie Howe’s eye, training with the senior squad since February, and there is hope the versatile forward can follow a similar path to Lewis Miley.
“He’s a goalscorer,” Howe said at a press conference in April. “In training and practice games, he’ll pop up with a goal, which is a great skill to have. He’s doing very well. He’s very young and I need reminding of that sometimes because he is competing on an even field technically.”
As recently as December, Neave was still lining up in the Under-18 Premier League.
“Now we’re talking about competing with Alexander Isak in training,” says Diarmuid O’Carroll, Newcastle’s under-21s coach. “He’s essentially skipped out the under-21s, which a lot of players do when they’re destined for good things. In six months Sean’s gone from being an under-18 to competing day in, day out with a world-class striker. It’s unbelievable, really.”
Neave is towards the top-right of this Wembley picture, with his right fist punching the air (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Neave’s rise may have been rapid, but those who have overseen his development are not getting ahead of themselves. While he is viewed as an exciting talent, there is a recognition he still has a lot of growth to come.
Sean has walked into an elite environment,” says Chris Moore, Newcastle’s under-18s coach. “That means he has to mature quicker than his peers.”
Last July, Neave’s individual development plan (IDP) — which Newcastle share between departments and age groups to outline a player’s strengths and what they must work on — projected he would break into the under-21s.
He was impressive for the under-18s, having made his debut as a 15-year-old in October 2022, before scoring 19 goals in 33 league appearances. But the former Wallsend Boys Club junior was slow to grow into his body, with Harper suggesting he is “where Lewis (Miley) was 18 months ago as a young boy in a big body”.
“He was behind the other lads physicality-wise,” Moore says, having worked with Neave since he was an under-15. “Sean was very slight and he’ll probably not fully grow into his body for another five years.”
Glenn Craggs, Newcastle’s head of local recruitment who spotted Neave, assured academy staff the raw talent was there. A dedicated nutrition and strength and conditioning plan was established.
“Glenn knew what Sean was about from grassroots,” says Mark Atkinson, head of player development, who has worked with Neave since the youngster joined Newcastle in 2019. “He kept reminding us that Sean needs time and patience to build belief in himself.”
Harper recalls the “catalyst” moment. “At under-15s, Sean was not seen as one of the ‘better’ players. And that’s his interpretation,” Harper says. “But then he scored six in a school game and it gave him the confidence boost he needed.”
Once Neave started scoring regularly at under-16 level, he flourished.
“He really started to believe in himself after that,” Atkinson says. “He produced a few top moments and that gave him the confidence. When he came in as a full-time under-17, the season started really positively, he was scoring and it took off from there. He got an England call-up and that wasn’t something we’d have envisaged that early.”
Neave’s England Under-17s debut came against Norway in October 2023, while he was capped at under-18 level last November, facing Poland and Germany. His technical qualities have never been in question and he impressed last season in the UEFA Youth League, including scoring against Borussia Dortmund aged 16.
“He’s got an ability when travelling with possession where, when someone thinks they’ve nicked the ball off him, he can just get that extra touch beyond them,” Moore says. “Instinctively, he sniffs out opportunities.”
Versatility has served Neave well. Throughout his youth career, he has been deployed as a striker, No 10 or wide forward, while he has regularly filled in at No 8 during first-team training.
“Sean’s always had an ability to score goals,” says Atkinson. “His ‘super-strengths’ are his ability to attack one-versus-one, his movement, his forward runs and his finishing.”
That knack for scoring means that, according to his coaches, Neave feels his natural position is centre-forward. “He’s rangy, similar in style to Will Osula or Isak,” says O’Carroll. “He’s more of a centre-forward, but he can play across the front line. He’s an intelligent footballer and technically very good.”
“When Sean goes in on goal, you have a confidence he’ll score,” Harper says. “That’s not often the case with young players.”
Mentality has also been crucial to Neave grasping his opportunities. Atkinson and Moore cite an “edge” to his on-pitch character.
“He’s a really nice lad off the pitch — humble, polite, hard-working — but he’s got a nice edge when he plays, almost like the flick of a switch,” says Moore. “He’s a real competitor. That isn’t always the easiest to deal with, if I’m honest, but all the top players have that side.”
Neave has some maturing to do, which is only natural given he remains a teenager.
“A big part of Sean’s development is learning how to control his emotions,” Atkinson says. “Sean needs that edge because he plays better with it. But there’s a fine line between being able to channel and control the mental side. That’s what we need to support him with.”
How Neave reacts to missing chances is one area Newcastle are working on.
“He’s a centre-forward, so he’s going to miss plenty,” Harper says. “Emotionally, he’s a little bit more upset than he should be, but that will change. As Sean moves up the levels, those chances are going to become more complicated, he’ll get fewer and less time. That’s the next step for him.”
Until November 1, Neave had never started a Premier League 2 fixture.
He began the season with the under-18s — scoring seven goals in four games — before finding the net less than two minutes into his full Premier League 2 debut, against Leeds United. Just four further regular-season starts followed — bringing three goals and two assists — before Howe requested Neave’s permanent presence at Benton following Miguel Almiron’s departure in January.
“We tell the lads when they get opportunities to train in front of first-team staff: ‘Make yourself ‘rememorable’,” says Atkinson. “Ultimately, it’s about players taking their opportunity. Obviously, Sean has created a bit of an impression.”
There have been close to 400 training opportunities with the first team for academy players this season, with Neave and Leo Shahar, the 18-year-old full-back, stationed with the senior side since February.
Neave is still studying, so is regularly at the academy continuing his education, where he is among the top 10 per cent for grades among his cohort. Due to Neave’s age, safeguarding and first-team staff have had to liaise to ensure he has separate changing facilities at Benton and St James’ Park.
“The manager has shown that, if you’re good enough, he’ll put you in,” Moore says. “But progress is rarely linear and there’s a massive jump from where Sean was even a year ago. He needs to keep his head down and everyone needs to keep working with him to hopefully fulfil his potential.”
Neave first appeared in a matchday squad at Birmingham City in the FA Cup in February, taking the No 78 shirt, before a Premier League call-up against West Ham United in March during the week leading up to the cup final. He has been an unused substitute on eight occasions at senior level, including for each of Newcastle’s past two outings against Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea.
“Is he close? Of course,” O’Carroll says. “But physically, psychologically, technically, tactically — he has to improve everything. He’s got to establish himself, show the manager he’s an option and actually get on the pitch. But he’s in no better environment to develop. The manager has proved what he can do with players when he gets hold of them.”
Coaches are working on Neave’s off-the-ball game, his finishing on the turn, left-foot shooting, hold-up play and his ability to deal with contact as they look to extract more from the talented teenager.
“The big compliment you see for Sean is he’s gone up into a first-team environment and not just survived, but thrived,” Harper says. “That’s not easy. And they like him. The challenge is to stay there now.”
Howe will have a significant influence upon what the next steps are for Neave.
A loan next season is a possibility but is more likely from January onwards, especially if Newcastle’s under-19s are back in the UEFA Youth League courtesy of the first team qualifying for the Champions League. But, should Neave impress during pre-season, the head coach may even decide to keep him around the first-team setup longer term.
“It’s very difficult to see what the future holds yet,” says O’Carroll. “People can sometimes be too eager to get players out on loan. Sometimes the best thing for young players is to stay in an elite environment, to push themselves to be the next one playing.
“It’s four months until the window closes, so why rush any decision? Nothing has been decided, and we want Sean to come back in pre-season and surprise people. If he blows the doors off the place, he’s not going to go anywhere. He’s going to be pushing for games for the first team, then everyone’s a winner.”
(Top photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)