All of the latest news from Little Benton inside Chronicle Live's Newcastle United academy notebook

It was clear pretty early into Matthias Jaissle's tenure at Newcastle United that he was prepared to trust young players and hand them opportunities in the first team when it was warranted.

That was none more evident than last month's win over Hull City when five of the club's youngsters - Miodrag Pivas, Mason Miley, Michael Mills, Kyran Thompson and Vakhtang Salia - were named on the bench.

Add to that the fact that Dylan Charlton and Henry Johnson featured regularly for the first team during pre-season, as well as Sean Neave, Rory Finneran and Leo Shahar, who have since left the club on loan.

Jaissle has spoken about how strong he feels the 'bridge' between the first team and the academy is this season and that is something under-21s lead coach Robbie Stockdale can sense when it comes to the motivation of his youngsters this season.

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And a key reason for that bridge has been the work of Jaissle's assistant manager Engin Yanova, who has watched all of the under-21s' home games this season.

The 49-year-old was spotted at Whitley Park on Friday as the young Magpies beat Luton Town 4-1 in the Premier League Cup and Stockdale feels the communication lines between the first team and the academy are as strong as ever.

"It's as good as what I can remember, Stockdale told Chronicle Live. "They see that the players growing up have got quality and I think on the back of that to trust them that whenever they are called upon they can do a job.

"That's really ticking the box for the work that all our academy coaches do under me. I just get the final bit. But certainly we'd expect all the players that go up there can put on a really good showing.

"It's a motivation for everyone in the academy. Players first and foremost, but it means that the job that we're doing is valued by the first team staff. Like I say, I speak to them every day.

"We train next to them. They're always asking about the players. I think Engin's been at every game that we've had so far when it's at home.

"We message after the game who did well. So, yes, it's a boost for all of us because we're trying to produce players for our first team, so the first team take a big interest of it. It's pleasing for everybody. I'm not trying to knock what happened before. I think there was a trust. If you were good enough, you might get in as well.

"It's getting harder and harder. The top Premier League teams, which we're one of them, spend a lot of money on players to improve the squad. So if you're going to get through, you're going to have to be really, really good.

"I think we're feeling all positive with how we are at the moment. Like I say, the proof's in what we're doing and what the first-team staff are doing and the trust in the players that they can rely on them.

"I think as we have it at the moment with the alignment between certainly myself and my staff and the first-team staff, I think the communication's always there and they know that. We get massive backing from the first-team staff in terms of the messages that they give the players when they do drop down, that they're watching.

"There's two members of the first-team staff at the game tonight. And that helps my job enormously with that aspect of it." [SM]

16-year-old's potential is 'so high'

One player Newcastle are really excited about behind the scenes is 16-year-old midfielder Jayden Kouossu. The England youth international joined the club from West Brom two years ago and has since gone from strength to strength.

After excelling for the under-18s, Kouossu has made the jump up to under-21 level where he has already made five appearances this term. He started back-to-back games against Solihull Moors in the National League Cup and Luton Town's under-21s in the Premier League Cup and Stockdale believes Kouossu's potential is so high he is not even sure the player himself realises it yet.

"He is physically a really strong player," Stockdale added. "He's got good technical ability, which all the players in the academy have. We'd say that would be a given to play for our academy teams, but he's got such a high ceiling and I'm not sure he recognises where that can be yet.

"So the challenge for him is at this level, which is obviously a little bit quicker than 18s football or below, is we're not expecting him to be the best player or the best version of himself for 90 minutes.

"What can we get for 60 minutes out of him? Physically, like I say, he needs to insert himself into the game a little bit more. He's got really good running power. We need to see that, but it's not where he is right now.

"It's probably where we can get him further down the line this season and maybe into next with the 21s. So really, really promising potential, but that's all it is at the moment." [SM]

Hartlepool verdict speaks volumes

The National League Cup has not been the most productive of competitions for the Magpies' under-21s in the last two seasons - but there was a rare high at Hartlepool United’s Victoria Park on Tuesday night.

After suffering defeats at Tamworth, Boreham Wood and Solihull Moors in their first three games of this season’s competition, Robbie Stockdale’s side earned a 2-1 win against Pools in what was effectively a dead rubber of a game.

However, the positives cannot be ignored as an opener from former Arsenal youngster Thompson and an own goal from Pools centre-back Reiss McNally were enough to help United build on their Premier League Cup win against Luton Town just days earlier.

Their performance was enough to earn wholesome praise from the man in the home dugout too as newly-appointed Pools head coach to the club website: "I thought Newcastle were outstanding tonight. I thought they played an excellent brand of football.

"They’ve got some top players and fair credit to them. I thought they were good value for their win tonight. I think both teams, for their young players, it’s a really good competition.”

The Magpies' under-21s are now without a game until their return to Premier League 2 action with a Tyne-Wear derby date with Sunderland on Monday, October 26. That fixture will now take place at St James Park and will get underway at 7pm. [MC]

Finneran's latest milestone

The 19-year-old's loan spell at Notts County continues to be a roaring success and after making his debut for the Ireland senior team, helping his country's under-21s side reach the play-offs in their European Championship qualifiers and being called up to Newcastle's first team during pre-season, he achieved another milestone in what is turning out to be a breakthrough 2026.

Finneran scored his first professional goal on Saturday as he rifled a 20-yard left-footed effort beyond Oxford goalkeeper Jamie Cumming in County's 2-1 defeat on Saturday.

Since moving to Meadow Lane in August, Finneran has made six appearances for the Magpies and has made the transition from under-21s football to League One look seamless. [SM]