Newcastle United 16-year-old reacts to shock Champions League squad call up

Newcastle United handed a shock call-up to 16-year-old Aidan Harris for Tuesday night’s Champions League opener against AC Milan.

With Martin Dubravka absent, Harris was drafted into Eddie Howe’s squad as the Magpies’ third goalkeeper behind the starting Nick Pope and back-up Loris Karius.

It marked Harris’ first senior call-up and what a way to mark it at the iconic San Siro as he participated in the pre-match warm-up and watched the goalless draw from the dugout.

Reacting on Instagram, Harris said: “Grateful for this experience 🤞🏻”.

Harris was eligible for selection through Newcastle’s Champions League ‘List B’, which is for players born on or before January 1, 2002 and have been eligible to play for the club for an uninterrupted period of at least two years or three years including a one-year loan spell.

An unlimited number of players can be named on ‘List B’ and they can be submitted by midnight the day before a match in order for players to be eligible to play.

Harris was set to feature for the Magpies’ under-19s side earlier in the day, where they lost 4-0 to Milan in the UEFA Youth League.

Among those to reply to Harris’ post was 17-year-old Lewis Miley, who was also included on the substitutes bench after impressing in pre-season.

If Miley appears in any of Newcastle’s remaining group games, the midfielder will become the club’s youngest-ever European debutant, a record currently held by Adam Campbell.