Eddie Howe's big Academy aim as Newcastle United move into phase two of takeover

Eddie Howe was tasked with one big aim when he was appointed as Newcastle United manager last November with the club's owners asking him to pull off something close to Mission Impossible on Tyneside.

It was an assignment that Howe knew he could not - in his own words - "guarantee" but as another summer on Tyneside starts in earnest, and fans look forward to next season, Howe has delivered survival and more in his short tenure at United so far. The bigger picture presents different challenges for the football club.

Never mind what some of the answers are, until technical director Dan Ashworth gets behind his desk we may not even know some of the questions. But one thing is for sure, and that is Newcastle will need to improve their recent record of giving young players a chance if they are to build for the long-term future.

No football club can survive on just big-money signings alone. One alarming statistic this season is Newcastle have been unable to hand any minutes to players under the age of 21 this season.

The club's Under-18 side have also endured a tough campaign too, losing 13-0 to Manchester City at the weekend in the Academy league. Although the Under-23 side have had a slightly better season finishing eight in Premier League 2 under Elliott Dickman's watch.

Historically, United's youth system has been dealt with some quite remarkable blows. You can go back to the 1990s when Kevin Keegan scrapped the reserve team with one of the notable losses from that generation being future England and Manchester United star Michael Carrick.

Carrick was at the club as a young teenager but it was decided with no clear pathway to the first-team, that West Ham was a better bet. United tried to repair the damage in the early