Newcastle United new signing spotted at Craven Cottage after double blow

There was a new face in Newcastle United's matchday squad for Saturday evening's FA Cup fourth round victory at Fulham.

With Miguel Almiron (illness) and Jamaal Lascelles (calf) adding to the Magpies' lengthy absentee list, Eddie Howe was without 10 senior players for the visit to Craven Cottage which handed an opportunity to young midfielder Travis Hernes.

Hernes - a summer signing from League One side Shrewsbury Town - was named on United's senior bench for the first time and watched on as academy graduate Sean Longstaff and Blyth-born Dan Burn found the net.

The 18-year-old fell short of making his debut but the experience was a reward for his good form this campaign. Hernes has played across several age groups in the academy and trained with Howe's squad.

Hernes scored on his professional debut for Shrewsbury during an EFL Trophy tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers under-21s at the tender age of 16 in August 2022. He then went on to make his full senior debut in front of 35,000 spectators away to Leeds United in the Carabao Cup at the beginning of the campaign.

Primarily a central midfielder, Hernes has featured for United's under-19 side in the UEFA Youth League, recording an assist in the 2-1 away win against Paris Saint-Germain in November as well as playing for United's under-18s and under-21s.

Speaking about his move to Newcastle, Hernes said: "It's a really good academy and you can see there's a lot of players who are breaking into the first-team and it shows there is a good pathway for the younger lads.

"I've been training with the first-team and that will only make you better yourself as a footballer when you're going up against that level of player. It's a really good experience to do that and it is important for your development and being able to challenge yourself against them.

"Whenever you go up there [to train with the first-team], it's about trying to take so much information on board."

Hernes become the latest youngster to step up to the senior squad behind the likes of Ben Parkinson, Alex Murphy and Michael Ndiweni.