It is easy to forget that Lewis Miley is still a teenager.
Remarkably, in last week’s win against Crystal Palace, Miley completed all 59 of his passes – the highest number with a 100% success rate in a top-flight game this season.
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Ben Dawson, who worked with Miley as Newcastle’s first-team development coach, was among those watching on impressed at St James’ Park.
“Lewis is Mr Consistent,” he said. “He is level-headed. It’s a mature period for someone so young but, emotionally, he manages himself really well.
“The technical and tactical side of the game almost takes care of itself because he’s got that quality.
“He’s always played in midfield but when you go to other positions, you can make it work if you have those attributes. He hasn’t tried to do anything that’s not him.”
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Yet what has been just as striking is how such a technical player has embraced the more gritty side of the game.
Miley has reclaimed possession on 55 occasions – more than any other teenager in the Premier League.
The midfielder has also won the most duels – 58 – of those players under the age of 20 in the top flight.
He has visibly filled out and even made the most of his 6ft 4in (1.93m) frame to score headers against both Fulham and Bayer Leverkusen last month.
Such growth has not gone unnoticed by performance coach Martin Nugent, who has worked with Miley throughout his formative years.
“He’s starting to look like a man,” he said.
Read the rest of Ciaran Kelly’s analysis on the rise of Lewis Miley here
However, BBC Radio Newcastle’s John Anderson says he would rest Miley against Bournemouth…
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