Newcastle’s South Korean winger is making great progress with the Under-21s
Seung-Soo Park of Newcastle United celebrates with teammates after he scores the second goal against Blackburn Rovers U21s
South Korean winger Seung-soo Park has expressed his determination to continue improving after making a big impact during Newcastle United Under-21s home win against Blackburn Rovers.
The 18-year-old was a surprise addition to the Magpies ranks when he joined from Suwon Bluewings during the summer and he made an instant impression at a senior level with some eye-catching displays in pre-season friendlies.
He was an unused substitute in the Premier League opener at Aston Villa in August and remained on the bench when the Magpies saw off Unai Emery’s side in an FA Cup fourth round tie in February. The South Korean has also been called up to first-team training regularly under Eddie Howe.
However, the vast majority of his integration into English football has come with the Magpies Under-21s side and the talented winger was at the heart of the action as the United youngsters made it just one defeat in their last seven games with a win against Blackburn on Friday night.
Seung-soo created the first goal of the night for first-team hopeful Sean Neave before doubling his side’s lead with an angled drive that beat Rovers keeper Blake Wolsoncroft before nestling into the top corner of his net.
Speaking after the win, the winger gave an insight into where he believes he stands in his development and set his sights on matching the levels set by one leading light within Eddie Howe’s first-team squad.
He told Chronicle Live: “I’m so proud of my team. Everyday in training, we are working so hard and it’s perfect. I am so happy but I want more and more practice every day in training. I hope I can quickly play in the first team.
“Physically, I think when I first came I was here (gestures low), now I am here (gestures slightly higher) but I need to be here (gestures even higher) like Anthony Gordon. I feel better and I am getting better.”
After a slow start to life in England, Seung-soo is showing signs of improvement and his performance in the win against Rovers marked the first time he has provided a goal and an assist during his time as a Magpie.
Progress on the pitch appears to be the result of hard work behind the scenes after newly-appointed Magpies Under-21s lead coach Robbie Stockdale revealed just how far the winger has progressed since his arrive on Tyneside last summer.
He said: “When Seung-soo first came in physically he wasn’t at the level where we would like him. So we look at that, we work within our IDT, our sport science department, our medical department and we tailor training sessions to build that up.
“I think now you can see that he has a lot more to come but in terms of where he is at, from where he started to where he is now, there has been a really good improvement and I think there’s more to come, which is the exciting bit.
“Where we get him to between now and the end of the season, we will keep working hard and hopefully next pre-season he will come back into the building and be in and around the first team in pre-season.”
The Magpies Under-21s will now turn their attention to their penultimate away game of the season as they prepare to visit Nottingham Forest on Friday night.
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