Newcastle United's newfound wealth has created a domino effect that only spells sustained success on Tyneside, with manager Eddie Howe's side's feats on the pitch buttressed by a restored infrastructure.
Indeed, the positivity has suffused across the Premier League club, with a recent feature from the Guardian detailing how morale has been boosted throughout the staff and the club's women's team has been provided fully professional status.
The youth academy is also receiving attention unseen under the drab, dark cloud that was the ownership of Mike Ashley, a despised figure at St. James' Park due to his severing of trust after a series of failed promises, also viewed as incompetent in his ownership after steering the club into the second tier on multiple occasions.
While Newcastle are now a Champions League outfit after Howe orchestrated a fourth-placed league finish last term and boast a lucrative transfer pool capable of procuring top talents to bolster the ranks, there is a new level of commitment to rivalling some of England's most productive academies.
Who is Newcastle's biggest academy talent?
Over the years, the Magpies have never boasted the most productive of youth systems and have seen the scant few homegrown talents of exciting value leave prematurely.
Andy Carroll joined Liverpool in a £35m deal as a 22-year-old in 2011 – a decision that was met with disdain by the Toon masses, with manager Alan Pardew stating that he was not for sale before Ashley's head was turned by the shiny value of allowing him to leave.
With the new look of the club, there will be optimism anew that the rising talents earn a shot at the first-team action, with Howe already entrusting a few with roles in his squad.
Indeed, Sean Longstaff has been a resurgent figure for his Toon team, hailed by pundit Paul Merson as the "unsung hero" after impressing in the midfield last term.
Similarly, Elliott Anderson broke into contention under Howe's stewardship and could be set for a big campaign ahead, with the homegrown ace, aged 20, lighting up the side's pre-season, scoring four times during the summer preparations.
The icing on the cake for the fast-rising outfit is that 17-year-old Lewis Miley has also impressed since the 2022/23 campaign's culmination, with former U21 coach Elliott Dickman stating that the dynamic midfielder's rise has been like "watching a duck take to water".
Who is Lewis Miley?
It's May 28th, 2023. Newcastle are approaching the closing stage of their final match of the Premier League season, away against Chelsea, set to leave Stamford Bridge with a point and a place in next year's Champions League proper.
Howe provided Miley with his professional debut in the 76th minute, who, earning an impressive Sofascore rating of 6.80, strove to make a positive impact with age-belying confidence and swagger.
Recently hailed as "brilliant" by The Chronicle's Lee Ryder, Miley has "bags of potential" and already looks a frightening prospect as a budding No. 8.
Especially after making 45 outings across United's youth ranks, scoring six goals and supplying eight assists, with journalist Mark Carruthers describing him as "a powerful runner, good close control and can pick a pass."
As he is nurtured to prominence, the Toon's midfield conductor Bruno Guimares could prove to be the perfect mentor, with the Brazilian absolutely paramount to the side's success since signing from Lyon in a £40m deal in January 2022.
Hailed for his "world-class" talent by teammate Dan Burn, Guimaraes has made 61 displays for his side and been the centrepiece of the long-lost verve.
As per FBref, the all-encompassing midfielder ranks among the top 15% of positional peers for shot-creating actions, the top 12% for progressive passes, the top 16% for successful take-ons and the top 26% for tackles per 90.
Having such a refined, rounded star to absorb the fruits of his labour is imperative to Miley's ascent, and in Guimaraes, he can learn the various facets of the central game and sharpen his skills, discerning what kind of player he wishes to be.
It's important to remember that Miley is still only young, very young, in the embryonic stage of his career and likely some way away from unlocking the full scale of his potential on Tyneside.
That being said, such a precocious kid will have the Newcastle masses eager to watch their star boy rise to the fore, and he could even prove to be the club's best talent since Paul Gascoigne, an eternally endeared figure in English football.
Initially the 'new Gazza' had been a phrase bestowed upon fellow academy graduate, Anderson, but those in the know will know it's likely Miley who now boasts the same, if not more potential.
Gascoigne was said to be an "inspiration" to Barcelona icon and all-time midfield great Xavi, who also remarked that he was "one of the best midfield players" he had ever witnessed.
Graduating from the St. James' Park academy, the silky offensive midfielder made 104 appearances for his boyhood club, scoring 24 goals, before signing for Tottenham Hotspur in 1988.
Proclaimed to be “the crackerjack of British football" by legend Stuart Pearce, who also said the 56-year-old was "the most talented individual I’ve played alongside", few have captured the awe and endearment of English football fans like 'Gazza' – as he was affectionately known.
To put Miley, still yet to reach his 18th year, on the same pedestal would be ludicrous, but given his innate talents, there is no reason why he cannot be nurtured to a prominent role as one of England's foremost midfielders in the future, thus eclipsing the entirety of the Magpies' home talent since the fateful day of Gascoigne's emergence on the scene.
Howe would somewhat be throwing the dice by providing Miley with a regular starting berth this season, with the teenager of immense talent, that is without question, but very inexperienced at senior level and likely not ready or deserving of an unmoving spot on the starting teamsheet.
That being said, he is a bona fide Premier League prodigy and must now be nurtured to prominence at St. James' Park, and with a 'world-class' midfield general in Guimaraes capable of complementing his skills perfectly, it might be the perfect time for the Magpies manager to kickstart a career that could shoot right to the very top.