The next few weeks will tell Newcastle United fans everything they need to know about Sean Neave
Sean Neave’s loan to Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers hasn’t exactly been fruitful thus far, but that could all be about to change over the next few weeks.
The youngster has had to bide his time so far and is yet to start a game in the Championship for Cesar Peixoto’s side but, with injuries to senior names like Adam Armstrong and Raul Jimenez, the Wolves boss has all but confirmed that Neave will be the main man up top going forward.
Newcastle fans should be watching closely to see how he does as, even though we are more than aware of the promise he has shown in the academy, this will be his first proper taste of senior football and could tell us a lot about just how high his ceiling may be.
Sean Neave’s time is now
There was some uncertainty about exactly which route Wolves would go down amid their current injury crisis at centre-forward, with Wolves fans rightfully being a little concerned about throwing Neave in at the deep end, especially when they are already seven points off the automatic promotion places.
But Portuguese gaffer Peixoto has been firm in his admission that these moments are why Neave was brought to the club, even if he didn’t mince his words when discussing Neave’s readiness for the challenge.
"Yes, he is the player we have in this position. He is a player who is not ready to play a lot of minutes and I have to be clear about that, but because he came as the third option, we have Raul, we have Adam, two experienced players. We bring young players to grow up and play some minutes in some games, football is like that. Raul is injured, Adam has a problem in his back, so it is the moment for Sean.”
"Sean has to show character, show his quality, try to work for the team and try to do his best. We have confidence in him. I think he needs more time to stay ready for this kind of pressure but he has the team to back him. He has my confidence and for sure he is going to fight to do his best.”
Make or break?
Okay, okay. Maybe make or break is a little dramatic. But this upcoming period will certainly be a defining factor in how well the rest of this loan spell goes.
When Neave went to Wolves, there was a feeling that he probably wouldn’t play many minutes, leading to a lot of questions about whether it was the right decision.
Those questions are still there, but this is probably one of the best scenarios that could have happened for Neave and will really give him a chance to show what he can do on the senior stage.
If he comes into the Wolves side and scores a couple of goals, looks a creative threat, and gains a bit of confidence, not only will it give Peixoto more faith that he can actually impact games, but it will also go a long way toward influencing Newcastle’s thinking about whether he could be a first-team option going forward, although his work rate, movement, link-up play and showing he can cope physically with the Championship could matter just as much as goals when it comes to his development path.
