Bad news for Miley: Newcastle ready to go big for £52m “difference maker”
Eddie Howe will soon know what the complexion of Newcastle United’s season is going to look like after a hectic January is over and done with.
Indeed, in the Premier League alone, the Magpies have a jam-packed schedule to contend with, as five league fixtures come thick and fast.
On top of wrestling with this tricky string of clashes, the Tyneside titans also have the Champions League and the EFL Cup still on their agenda, in a month that has been rightly dubbed as “season-defining” by their manager.
Howe can flesh out his squad more with some January signings, though, as the up-and-down Magpies continue to be linked with a whole host of names, to ensure the intimidating fixture schedule doesn’t swallow them whole.
Newcastle prepared to spend big on midfield signing
Newcastle’s squad has often been stretched to its limits this season, with Lewis Hall unfortunately finding himself in and out of his manager’s starting XI plans, owing to recurring injuries.
To lessen this concern, Newcastle could soon go after rising Toulouse star Dayann Methalie, with reports suggesting that an enquiry will soon be made by the Magpies involving the promising left-back.
Moreover, Howe and Co. could be prepared to splash the cash on AZ Alkmaar midfield sensation Kees Smit, as he remains at the top Newcastle’s list when it comes to potential midfield additions.
This had been reported by the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, with the i Paper further adding fuel to the fire to suggest that if Newcastle are to ‘go big’ for anyone this January, it will be the Dutch midfielder.
The piece notes that while the Magpies are expecting it to be a ‘quiet month’, the situation could change if they feel there is a deal there to be done for Smit.
If Newcastle are prepared to spend big to land the Real Madrid-linked ace, who has been valued at £52m, it could be bad news for Lewis Miley.
Miley is currently starring at St James’ Park, but the competition for midfield spaces would only intensify further with the arrival of the classy 19-year-old.
Why Smit joining would be bad news for Miley
While Newcastle weren’t always at their electric best towards the latter stages of 2025, Miley still managed to stick out, with the homegrown product even bagging his first-ever Champions League goal last month, when placing this header past Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Mark Flekken.
It wasn’t just this header, though, with the 19-year-old battler also managing to score a last-minute goal in the EFL Cup to send Newcastle to the semi-final stages of the competition.
Moreover, he further looked lively when others downed tools versus Burnley, with four duels won, capping off a brilliant individual month for the teenage sensation, as the December player of the month accolade also fell into his lap.
Still, even with the special number 67 being at the top of his game at the moment, he would find it a lot harder to keep a firm grip on a spot in the main lineup, if Smit were to talk through the door at some stage this month.
|
Smit vs Miley – League stats (25/26) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat – per 90 mins* |
Smit |
Miley |
|
Games played |
15 |
15 |
|
Goals scored |
2 |
1 |
|
Assists |
2 |
2 |
|
Touches* |
62.3 |
41.3 |
|
Accurate passes* |
42.7 (89%) |
27.8 (89%) |
|
Key passes* |
1.7 |
0.6 |
|
Big chances created |
3 |
1 |
|
Ball recoveries* |
5.6 |
3.3 |
|
Total duels won* |
3.3 |
2.7 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
||
While Miley continues to generate a lot of hype in Newcastle circles exclusively, Smit seems to be the talk of the town in the whole football world this January, with one scout even revealing to TEAMtalk that the 6-foot midfielder is a talent “everyone is watching” at the moment.
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It’s clear to see why there is so much interest at his door, when taking in the table above, with Smit displaying very few flaws in his well-rounded game in the Eredivisie this season, with more accurate passes averaged by the 19-year-old per 90 minutes than Miley, alongside also displaying more vigour and energy when trumping the Englishman’s ball recovery and duels won numbers.
With a fierce effort up his sleeve, too, seeing content creator Spencer Mossman hail him as a “difference maker” from the middle of the park for Maarten Martens’ side, Smit could well be capable of storming straight into the Newcastle XI without looking out of his depth, with Miley tumbling down the pecking order, subsequently.
After all, Smit looks to be the real deal, already, while Miley arguably needs to fine-tune aspects of his game to be on the same level as the £52m-rated star.
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