Newcastle United duo’s absence explained after Birmingham City & Wolves summer moves

Newcastle United academy duo Trevan Sanusi and Leo Shahar have been called up by England under-17s for this month’s international fixtures.

The young pair featured during the second-half of the under-18s’ 4-2 defeat to Stoke City on Saturday and were expected to be involved in Monday’s under-21s Tyne-Wear derby with Sunderland.

However, neither player was present for the 3-2 victory after travelling south to link with the young Lions ahead of their European Championship qualifying triple-header against Northern Ireland, Hungary and France at St George’s Park.

Sanusi joined Newcastle from Birmingham City last summer having reportedly attracted interest from the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester City.

The 16-year-old has gone on to make 22 appearances for the academy, namely with the under-18s, however has stepped up to under-21s level in recent weeks.

And it’s similar for Shahar, who has also featured for the club’s second string. The 17-year-old full-back also joined last summer, leaving boyhood Wolverhampton Wanderers after 10 years.

Opening up on the move, Shahar said: “Since joining Newcastle, I’ve been loving it and I think I’ve settled in very quickly. All the lads around the academy are great and have helped me to kick-start my journey with this great football club.

“I knew a few of the lads before I signed and that only helps our relationships on and off the pitch, benefiting the team as a whole as we’re able to connect more.”

“I’d been at Wolves since the age of six so it was always going to be difficult to leave a club that you’ve been with for so long, but I thought the opportunity was really hard to turn down, with the chance of playing in the Youth League as well as featuring at under-21s level. I was keen to take it.”

Both players will be hoping to retain their spot in the England under-17s squad when they travel to Cyprus for the finals this summer.