Newcastle United take Tottenham Hotspur defender on trial in Rangers friendly win

Newcastle United are running the rule over Tottenham Hotspur youngster Jordan Hackett as they continue their efforts to strengthen their academy sides.

The 18-year-old left-back has spent the week on Tyneside and featured for the club’s Under-23s as they claimed a 3-2 win against a Glasgow Rangers B side on Thursday.

Dylan Stephenson, Matty Bondswell and Kyle Crossley all scored for the Magpies second string as they came out on top at Ibrox according to RangersNews.uk.

The likes of Max Thompson, Santiago Munoz and Lucas De Bolle - who was in the first-team squad for last weekend’s defeat at Manchester City - also featured in friendly game north of the border.

According to the Spurs website, London-born defender Hackett made 22 appearances for their Under-18s side over the last two seasons and continued to be a regular feature in the side as they finished in ninth place in the South Division table during the current campaign.

After representing England at Under-16 level, he earned a maiden call-up to the Under-18 squad in March 2021 and made a ten-minute appearance as a substitute in a 1-1 draw with Wales.

It is not yet known whether the defender has impressed the United coaches sufficiently to earn a move to the North East.

However, the move does show United are looking to bolster their academy squad throughout the summer in preparation for the new season.

Under-23s lead player development coach Elliot Dickman recently urged the existing members of United’s youth ranks to “start taking a little bit more responsibility” when it comes to their own development.

Speaking after the Northumberland Senior Cup Final defeat against Blyth Spartans, he told Newcastle World: “To be fair to the staff within the Under-23s programme and the academy, the standards are high.

“Some players, I’m talking the older group, the group we’ve had here tonight, they’ve got to be careful they don’t get left behind.

“Things change quickly in football and the programme and our way of working that Steve has and Neil and Mark have in place for us is exceptional.

“We are working hard and we are trying our best to implement this with the group we have got - but the big thing is these individuals and these players have got to start taking a little bit more responsibility for their performance and their own way of doing things.

“The players have got to take responsibility and we, as a staff, will certainly be driving those standards continually.”