Newcastle loan manager Shola Ameobi says new football director Dan Ashworth will be a boost for the academy talent.

Ameobi came through the Toon system himself and is eager to work with the former England chief.

He told Chronicle Live: "As a product of the academy myself, this is why I'm here. This is what I want to do - to see our young players develop.

"We have quality, and we need to make sure we're doing our bit as coaches and as a club to harness that talent. It's really important as a club to have that vision. Kids aren't going to come through unless we have a vision as a club to make that a reality and Dan has a track record of doing that, and that's why personally I am excited.

"If you look at what he has done at West Brom and Brighton and the kids who came through there, that is a big part of the game model he has had and Dan bringing that here, I know the owners, Mehrdad and Amanda, want that as well. He's the key to hopefully unlocking that for us in terms of the strategies and the implementations, and of what we need to do to allow that to flourish alongside Eddie Howe and his team.

"It's bringing all those things together and putting those things into place to facilitate that. That is something, from my initial conversations with him, that he is excited to do."