Newcastle United striker makes final St James' Park appearance - three players set to leave

Newcastle United under-21s played at St James’ Park on Tuesday night and for some players, it is likely to have been for the final time.

The young Magpies beat Northern League Division Two champions Blyth Town 2-1 to lift the Northumberland Senior Cup for the first time since 2018. And three players who started the game, Lucas De Bolle, Amadou Diallo and Dylan Stephenson, are understood to have played their last in black and white.

De Bolle joined the Magpies’ academy in 2015 and went on to appear in a handful of friendlies, as well as feature on the bench in the Premier League. He also spent last year on loan at Scottish club Hamilton Academical before coming close to joining Feyenoord last summer.

Diallo arrived from West Ham United two years ago. The 21-year-old made his Premier League debut as a substitute against Chelsea in November and appeared in a countless other matchday squads during the first-team’s injury crisis.

Stephenson, meanwhile, had only recently come back into the fold last month after spending the second-half of the campaign on loan at National League North side South Shields under former Magpies coach Elliott Dickman.

The 21-year-old forward has spent the last seven years at United, making his debut as a late substitute during a pre-season friendly against Atalanta in August 2022. A few months later, he then bagged a first senior goal in a 5-0 win versus Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.

A harsh reality of professional football is that not everyone makes the cut and trio are preparing to kickstart their senior careers elsewhere next season. Indeed, NewcastleWorld understands both Diallo and Stephenson aren’t short of interest with clubs in the EFL and National League understood to be keen.