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25.54 – a number Newcastle should be pleased with?

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At Newcastle right now it’s a case of out with the old and in with the young. Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias are doing their utmost to get rid of aging players who are on significant wages and bring in youngsters who cost a little less and have a higher re-sale value. It appears to be paying off as well if these latest figures released by talkSPORT are anything to go by.

The average age of Newcastle’s current squad is just 25.54. This places them 6th in the Premier League in terms of the youngest squad, and this could be viewed as quite an achievement in some regards, although the pessimists will point towards the lack of experienced players. The averages have been calculated using the ages of the recently submitted 25 man Premier League squads, who are all over 21-years-old.

The main reason that Newcastle have been able to bring down the average age of the squad is that they’ve offloaded some of their older statesmen. Sol Campbell alone lifted that average considerably, while Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton were both pushing 30. In terms of signings, Demba Ba is the oldest at 26, while Newcastle’s latest acquisition Davide Santon is just 20 years of age. So, does that point to the Magpies’ future being bright?

In short, hopefully yes, but just because they have a group of talented young players, doesn’t mean they’ll develop to become stars in the future. In goal they have a great youngster in the form of Tim Krul, who should be in between the sticks at St James’ Park for many years to come, or as long as Newcastle can rebuff advances for the Dutchman. Steven Taylor looks like he might finally be about to fulfil his potential, and Cheik Tiote and Yohan Cabaye are just starting to build what should be a fruitful partnership in the middle of the park.

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It’s exciting that Newcastle have the likes of Haris Vuckic and Sammy Ameobi who are ready to burst onto the first team scene, but the importance of experience and nous should not be underestimated. If, as reported, the likes of Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrrez leave next summer, they’ll be two attributes Newcastle will be short of. 25 sounds about right for an squad’s average age, but I wouldn’t want it to be much younger than that.

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