A stand-in solution has become, in Eddie Howe’s words, “a lovely problem to have”.
Lewis Miley deserves to be in Newcastle United’s starting XI against Leeds United on Wednesday. Period.
If his five-game run at right-back proves to be over — far from certain, despite Tino Livramento and Kieran Trippier returning to fitness — then he warrants a place in midfield. Or perhaps somewhere else because his tactical understanding and technical surety suggests that, even aged 19, he could perform wherever needed.
During the morale-boosting 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace which lifted Newcastle to ninth, Miley delivered — from right-back, a position he had never trained in properly, never mind started a match in until three weeks ago — an assured, composed man-of-the-match display as Newcastle finally recorded a clean sheet after 12 matches across all competitions, and a dozen Premier League games, without one.
Not only did Miley complete the most passes of any player, all 59 of those found their intended target, including the crucial, deft assist for Bruno Guimaraes’ vital 71st-minute opener. His 100 per cent pass-completion rate dwarfed any other starter for either side; nobody else managed above 85 per cent.
59 – Lewis Miley completed all 59 of his passes vs Crystal Palace, the best 100% rate of any player in a Premier League game this season and the second-best by a Newcastle United player on Opta record (since 2003-04) after Cheick Tioté vs Arsenal in January 2016 (66 out of 66).… pic.twitter.com/Et4NXmjoxZ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 4, 2026
When Newcastle’s midfield trio of Guimaraes (10 misplaced passes), Sandro Tonali (seven) and Joelinton (nine) gave the ball away 26 times, having someone who uses possession as efficiently as Miley feels essential.
Admittedly, many of those misplaced midfield passes were attempts at being progressive — the same applies to Lewis Hall’s seven stray passes from left-back — and sometimes being metronomic is not necessarily a positive, if it means there is a lack of intent. But Miley’s nine passes into the final third were the joint-most by a Newcastle player, alongside Fabian Schar, and his expected assists (xA) return of 0.74 — a metric which measures the quality of chances laid on — was the highest, too. Only Hall (two chances) created more opportunities.
In a chaotic match when both sides kept coughing up possession, especially early in the second half, Miley was cool-headed and dependable on the ball.
This season on the road, Newcastle have been particularly profligate in possession. Their inability to hold on to the ball has invited pressure and become a critical shortcoming. Calling upon Miley’s quality, whether in midfield or at right-back, may go some way to improving upon that deficiency.
“On the ball, very good, very composed,” Howe said of Miley during his post-match press conference. “The team has benefited from his composure, his ability on the ball and his defensive performances have been spot on.”
Miley was also central to everything positive Newcastle did against Palace. He enjoyed the second-most touches (89) after Guimaraes, who Howe shifted to No 6 in the 63rd minute because “I wanted him to have more influence”. Tonali made way for Jacob Ramsey — the Italian threw his coat across the dugout in frustration after being replaced — and Howe suggested he wanted greater “control” with Guimaraes deeper.
A match-high five dribbles from Miley also displayed his confidence; when the academy graduate is not using the ball well with an accurate pass, he can carry possession upfield.
His off-the-ball contributions impressed Howe most, though. Miley won eight of his 10 ground duels and one of his three in the air.
“I tip my hat to him for the defensive performance,” Howe said. “It’s so difficult to play that position when you haven’t played it throughout your career. Tactically, we asked something slightly different from him and he takes everything in his stride and does it really well.”
Injuries to the backline and to Nick Pope have afflicted Newcastle recently, but Dan Burn is the only regular defensive starter who is still out. And finally a shutout was recorded, their first since October 5, a 12-game stretch.
“We deserved it,” Howe said. “We weren’t perfect defensively but it was a really good display. I was really pleased with the defensive resilience we showed, to get the clean sheet for everybody because we’ve been working hard on it.”
Malick Thiaw — who prodded in Newcastle’s second from another set piece in the 78th minute to make it 11 home matches in all competitions unbeaten — described Miley as “incredible” and praised his ability to more-than fill in at right-back.
Malick Thiaw scored Newcastle’s second goal against Palace (George Wood/Getty Images)
“My first week, I was blown away by his quality as a midfield player,” Thiaw told reporters. “But then he even surprised me as well, how he can play as a right-back. The composure he has, the one-against-one defending, how good he is. He is quick, really comfortable on the ball. Newcastle should be really happy to have him.
“Football is not about age, it’s about performance. He’s one of the guys who leads with his performances.”
Full-backs are key to Howe’s system and Newcastle are an entirely different proposition, especially offensively but also defensively, when their first-choice pairing of Hall and Livramento start together. Yet that has happened on only four occasions this season and, while Newcastle are looking to recruit a left-back this month — Toulouse’s Dayann Methalie is admired — Miley has unexpectedly emerged as a genuine option at right-back.
Tellingly, when Howe made his triple substitution in the 63rd minute, it was Hall who made way for Livramento, with the latter coming on at left-back, rather than displacing Miley at right-back. Newcastle will attempt to record three successive Premier League victories for the first time this season when they host Leeds and Howe does not need to rush Livramento or Trippier back — Miley really could retain his place.
“He’s shown that he’s got more strings to his bow than just one or two positions,” Howe said. “When he goes back into midfield, you’ll see him as a better, more rounded player in that position for this experience.
“I’d still consider him a midfielder who’s playing and doing an unbelievable job for the team at right-back. We’ve got players coming back from injury that can add a lot in that position as well, so we’ll make a decision based on the next game.”
If that decision is based primarily on recent performances, Miley plays. The only question is in which position.