UEFA rules block former Liverpool youngster from playing in Champions League after Newcastle United call-up
A former Liverpool youngster has been spotted in Newcastle United first-team training ahead of the Champions League last-16 first-leg clash against Barcelona.
Newcastle United were back in training on Tuesday ahead of their Champions League last-16 first-leg tie at home to Barcelona.
Newcastle suffered FA Cup fifth round disappointment on Saturday night after they were dumped out of the competition by Manchester City.
Harvey Barnes put the Magpies ahead in the 18th minute but the visitors soon took total control and equalised before half-time through Savinho. Omar Marmoush then gave Man City the lead two minutes into the second half before adding a second on the hour-mark.
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Newcastle United trio spotted in training ahead of Barcelona clash
Eddie Howe made four changes to his starting line-up against Man City, with Joelinton, Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy among the players on the bench.
Howe revealed after the game that the trio had been carrying knocks. Joelinton and Gordon came on as substitutes, however Murphy stayed seated. Encouragingly, the three players were spotted in training, as was Jacob Ramsey, who missed the weekend through suspension.
“I think we're in a difficult spot because we're trying to get through the games and perform and to win, but we're also trying to navigate and keep players fit, which is very, very difficult to do,” Howe said.
“The combination of the two, I don't think we've got the strength at the moment to make loads of changes and keep the same strength in our performance. We tried to do it with a couple of key players today that we had to protect.
“Anthony Gordon's come in with an ankle problem, we had to protect him today. We had to protect Joelinton today with past experience. These players are too big to lose.
“We're in a cycle where we just need to get some players back fit and get some of the strength back in the group.
“Again, I couldn't use Jacob Murphy today because of a neck problem which he suffered yesterday and wanted to see how I felt in the warm-up to see if I could use him.
“We were really stretched today again and I think the lads that played gave everything but we just ran out of energy.”
UEFA rules block former Liverpool youngster from playing in the Champions League
There were also some youngsters involved in the session, with Alex Murphy and Sean Neave no strangers by this point after making their Champions League debuts in the two-legged play-off victory over Qarabag.
But a face that Newcastle fans may not recognise is 16-year-old defender Isaac Moran. Moran has regularly featured for the under-18s since joining from Liverpool last summer.
However, while Moran has been rewarded with a call-up to first-team training, that won’t extend into a call-up to the matchday squad against Barcelona.
Moran is ineligible to feature in this season’s Champions League as he has not been included in the club’s ‘List A’ squad and is ineligible to be named in the ‘List B’ squad.
To be eligible for the ‘List B’ squad, players must have been born on or after January 1, 2004 and played for the club for an uninterrupted period of two years.
On signing Moran, academy director Steve Harper said: “Isaac joins us with a strong pedigree and a maturity beyond his years.
“The leadership qualities he has displayed to date speak volumes about his character, and we’re excited to help him continue developing both as a player and a person.
“He’s a driven individual who fits the values of our Academy perfectly. Isaac’s addition to the Academy reflects the continued excellence of our recruitment team, whose efforts remain integral to our long-term strategy.”