Dutch midfielder Sean Steur believes that he is capable of rising to the “challenge” of the Premier League with Newcastle United.
Following his pre-season debut for the Magpies against Gateshead on Saturday, the 18-year-old outlined his confidence in his own abilities, stating that “I wouldn’t come here if I didn’t think I was able to do that [play in the Premier League]”.
Despite the 1–1 draw with Gateshead only being a friendly, Newcastle staff and supporters alike were impressed by Steur’s composure on the ball and willingness to play forward.
Steur recently arrived on Tyneside from Dutch giants Ajax and made clear that his time there, both in the academy and the first team, was instrumental in developing him as a player and a person.
“Players have come from there who are now in the best clubs in the world and I hope to be one of them,” he said, with confidence oozing from his answer.
He added that “I don’t really like to compare [myself to other players] because everybody is his own player and I just play my own game, and that’s what I try to do.”
It was evident from this solitary match that Steur possesses the technical ability to go far, but that he will need further coaching from Eddie Howe during his time at Newcastle to help fully develop him as an elite-level talent.
Steur described Howe as “really energetic” and said that Newcastle’s head coach has already helped him a lot in training to understand exactly what he wants from him.
Howe himself was very complimentary of Steur’s display against Gateshead, saying that “he can be really pleased with his performance”, but tempered expectations of Steur and the Magpies’ other young additions ahead of the new season.
Whilst Howe was openly supportive of the club’s transfer policy this summer of bringing in youth, he acknowledged that losing the experience of Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali has hurt them.
Newcastle captain Bruno Guimarães is also the subject of links to Arsenal, although no club-to-club talks have yet occurred according to those on Tyneside. There has been talk of a potential £70 million bid for Guimarães, but this would likely be rejected by the Magpies.
Guimarães is set to return to training with Newcastle, alongside Steur and the rest of the squad, on Friday as they head to Spain for a warm-weather camp.
