Elliott Dickman appointed Newcastle United Lead Player Development Coach for Under-23 side

The 43-year-old joins the Magpies' Little Benton Academy from Sunderland, where he had worked his way through the ranks to become Under-23 Lead Coach and helped several young players progress into the Black Cats' first team.

Dickman was himself a promising talent at the Academy of Light, having previously been on the books at Manchester United, but was forced to retire at the age of 20 with a persistent hip problem so threw himself into a coaching career at a young age.

After starting out with Sunderland's under-eights more than 20 years ago, he took charge of their under-23 side in 2017 and has overseen the development of players including Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and Bordeaux's Josh Maja, as well Republic of Ireland internationals Conor Hourihane and John Egan.

Speaking about the appointment, Newcastle United's Academy Manager Steve Harper said: "We're delighted to bring Elliott to the club after a thorough recruitment process.

"Elliott is a meticulous coach with a real passion for the game, and he's been an integral part of the success in developing players at Sunderland's Academy over several years.

"In recent years he's helped several players make that all-important jump from Academy football to the first team, and with the structures in place at our Academy and the ethos we're looking to build here, we're confident that he can help our young players follow in the footsteps of players like Sean and Matty Longstaff, Elliot Anderson and Kell Watts in making that big step for Newcastle United."

Dickman - who will take charge of the Magpies' under-23s for the first time against Norwich City on Friday night - added: "I am very excited to join Steve Harper, Mark Atkinson, Neil Winskill and the rest of the Academy staff.

"This is a fantastic opportunity to help develop and support Newcastle's young players in their ambitions to reach first team football.

"The work that Steve and his team have implemented so far is very impressive and I can't wait to get started."