Anthony Munda eyeing move from Newcastle to take the 'next step'

Newcastle United have some very talented young players amongst their ranks these days, but not all are likely to break into the first team.

The reality is that many young stars will be moved on from the club before they get the chance to taste first-team football for the club that nurtured them.

However, this is a trend Newcastle are hoping to change in the coming years, which is why there is so much emphasis on finding young stars to develop in-house.

There's also the benefit of adding club-grown players to the ranks, which is important when selecting the squad for European competition.

Anthony Munda has first-team aspirations

Lewis Miley has been the ultimate example of a player coming through the academy and breaking into the first team, and he's hopefully blazed a trail for others to follow with Sean Neave tipped to walk the same path.

Another young player with first-team opportunities on his mind is Anthony Munda. The 19-year-old midfielder feels he's ready for the next step in his career and told The Shields Gazette as much following Newcastle Under 21s' draw with Wolves on Monday night.

“I feel like, for me, that's the next step (a loan move) that I need to take. Obviously, I’ve played quite a lot of under-21s football, so the step from the under-21s to first-team football is quite a big jump.

“But I feel like now I'm in a place where I'm ready to do so and, hopefully, next season we'll see what comes. I feel like I'm in a good place right now, just trying to take it game by game, but obviously my aim is to play first-team football. I feel like now I'm ready to take that push but I can only control what I control right now - and that's by playing games as best as I can.”

Shola Ameobi is in for a busy summer

Munda feels like one of the youngsters we should be keeping a close eye on, and if he feels he's ready to go and play first-team football somewhere, we should be looking to provide him that opportunity.

Of course, once again, it comes down to our loan department being on the ball and finding him a club that's going to challenge his current skillset and improve him with regular football otherwise it's pointless. This has been a problem for our loans department in the past.

The Under-21s have had a really strong end to the season under Robbie Stockdale, and there will likely be a few others besides Munda who feel that a loan move next season would be beneficial. It could be a crucial summer for Shola Ameobi and his loans team.