Michael Mills Newcastle winger is firmly in contention for his first senior call-up after being spotted pitchside at Elland Road during Monday’s 4-1 Premier League defeat to Leeds United, with a place in the squad for this weekend’s home fixture against Hull now a genuine possibility.
Mills was not named in the matchday squad for the Leeds game, but his presence on the pitch during the warm-up was hard to miss. Newcastle captain Dan Burn, who made the trip despite being ruled out through injury, emerged alongside the teenage winger and the pair spent around five minutes talking on the halfway line. That kind of visibility, in that kind of company, is rarely accidental.
Who is Michael Mills?
Mills joined Newcastle United from Port Vale three years ago at the age of 14. According to Transfermarkt, he was born on 18 February 2009 in Manchester. He has worked through the age groups steadily, starring for the under-18s over the last two seasons before stepping up to under-21 level this term.
Chronicle Live saw him score twice in an FA Youth Cup win over Portsmouth last season. He is described as a pacy, direct winger who possesses a goal threat, is rapid and looks to take his defender on. Those are exactly the attributes Newcastle are short of right now.
His development has not gone unnoticed at international level either. The Athletic reports that Mills has been capped by England at under-16, under-17 and under-18 level, a pathway that underlines just how highly he is rated beyond St James’ Park as well as within it.
Michael Mills Newcastle winger: the Hull opportunity explained
The injury list at Newcastle is the reason a door has swung open. Anthony Elanga missed the Leeds defeat through injury and head coach Matthias Jaissle admitted after the match that it does not look good. Nico Gonzalez is dealing with a concussion and Jacob Ramsey is a doubt with a thigh problem. That combination could free up two spots in the matchday squad for this weekend’s visit of Hull.
Whether the likes of Burn, Will Osula or Joelinton are ahead of schedule with their own recoveries will shape how much room there is. If they are not, Newcastle’s younger options move sharply up the pecking order, and Mills’ appearance at Elland Road suggests he is in pole position among them.
Jaissle has already shown he will hand chances to young players. Over pre-season, across four matches, the likes of Leo Shahar, Sean Neave, Rory Finneran, Mason Miley, Miodrag Pivas, Dylan Charlton and Henry Johnson all got extended runs in the first team environment. Shahar, Neave and Finneran have since gone out on loan. Miley took another step forward at Leeds, named in a Premier League squad for the first time. Mills looks like the next name in that queue.
Before the Leeds game, Jaissle said of Miley that he showed he was at a ‘high level’ over the summer and that they ‘trust’ him. That kind of language from a head coach matters. Mills has not yet received that public endorsement, but the trip to Elland Road says plenty without words.
Newcastle’s under-21s travel to face York City in the Vertu Motors Trophy at the LNER Community Stadium this evening, and the squad Jaissle’s staff put out there could offer a clear steer on who is being held back for the Hull squad this weekend. If Mills is absent from that under-21 line-up, his first senior call-up will be very close indeed.