A defensive concern has been highlighted with the call-up of a 17-year-old by Newcastle United in advance of the Nottingham Forest match.

Newcastle United called up a 17-year-old player in anticipation of the Nottingham Forest match due to concerns regarding their defence.

The match is poised to be a critical confrontation in the competition for Champions League qualification, as Forest is currently third in the ranking and six points ahead of Newcastle in seventh.

The Magpies’ prospects of qualifying for the Champions League would be substantially diminished if they were to suffer a loss, resulting in a nine-point deficit to Forest with 12 games remaining. However, they would be able to reduce the distance to a mere three points by achieving a superior goal difference with a victory. Forest prevailed by the same margin during their most recent visit to St.

James’ Park on Boxing Day 2023, but Newcastle emerged victorious in the reverse fixture 3-1 at the City Ground in November. In the preceding four Premier League matches, Newcastle has suffered defeats in three of them, as well as in each of their last two matches at St James’ Park. Eddie Howe and captain Bruno Guimaraes were critical of The Magpies’ performance following their 4-0 loss at Manchester City last weekend.

Leo Shahar, a 17-year-old right-back, was once again observed training alongside the first team in Newcastle’s training field images prior to the Forest match. Shahar, who arrived from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2023, has progressed through the academy divisions and is no stranger to training alongside the first team.

However, he has yet to appear in a competitive match for the first team. Shahar was swiftly promoted from the Under-18s to the Under-21s at Newcastle’s academy, and he is currently on the periphery of the first team at the age of 17. Shahar inked his initial professional contract with Newcastle last year.

His participation in training coincides with the team’s current defence availability challenges. Sven Botman has been unable to participate in the last two matches due to a knee issue, while Jamaal Lascelles has been inactive since last March due to an ACL injury. It is anticipated that Botman will be available to play against Forest this weekend; however,

he was not included in the list of defenders who were photographed during training on Wednesday. Despite being declared able to play at Birmingham City last weekend, Dan Burn, who sustained a groin injury during the 3-2 victory earlier this month, has also received minimal training time.