Sean Steur praises Eddie Howe after impressing for Newcastle United

New Newcastle United signing Sean Steur made his second appearance for the club on Saturday as Newcastle took on Gateshead.

The 18-year-old Dutch midfielder played the whole 90 minutes for the Magpies and was easily the standout player for Eddie Howe's side.

Even being so new to the side, Steur looks comfortable in midfield already, and a lot of Newcastle's best play went through him.

We don't want to get too carried away as it was a pre-season friendly against a Northern League side, but the future is looking good if he can build on this early promise.

Sean Steur is already encouraged by Eddie Howe as a coach

Speaking to reporters after the game, Sean Steur said he doesn't like to compare himself to other players.

He went on to tell journalist Daniel Wales that Eddie Howe is already helping him on the training pitch.

"He's really energetic and helps me a lot. If I don't understand anything, he just explains it to me again, and he really helps me."

Can Steur make a claim for Tonali's spot?

We can't wait to see more of Steur over pre-season to get a feel for just how far off the starting XI he is. Based on his performance on Saturday, we'd say not far at all.

In fact, if we look at the game against Gateshead, he was far better than his midfield partner, Joe Willock, who is still expected to leave St James' Park this summer.

Whether Steur can make a case for beating the likes of Jacob Ramsey, Lewis Miley and even Aladji Bamba to the spot vacated by Sandro Tonali remains to be seen, but the early signs are very encouraging.