Highly-rated striker Elias Sorensen headed across to Carlisle to join the Blues on a one-year loan deal today fresh off the back of a pre-season tour with his parent club's first team squad which had seen him start the game against West Ham United in the Asia Trophy competition held in Shanghai last month.
The 19-year-old signed a new 42-month contract with the Magpies in January and admitted that part of his reason for wanting to go out on loan was give him time to prove that he can handle the senior environment.
“I wanted to go out on loan, and a couple of different clubs were interested, but I felt this was the best option for me," he explained. "The manager spoke to me and my agent, and I also spoke to Shola [Ameobi] at Newcastle as well, and we all agreed this was the best option.
"I know the manager here has wanted to sign me for a while and it’s nice when you know clubs are pushing to sign you. I haven’t really spoken to Steve Bruce about it, but after he brought in Joelinton and Andy Carroll I thought he’d want me to go on loan this season, so here I am."
“I do feel like I need to get regular game time," he added. "I thought I played well in the under-23s league in the first half of last year, then I went on loan to Blackpool, but that didn’t work out. I feel ready to play men’s football now and I’m looking forward to this challenge.
“When I spoke to Steven Pressley he told me it’s a really good group and that I’d love it here. He also said we’ve got quite a small squad so I’m going to get plenty of chances to play, and everyone has got a big part to play in the season. I'm looking forward to it now."
On what we can expect to see once he gets out on the pitch, he said: “I’m a hard-working striker, I’ll try and do my best in every game and hopefully I’ll get a few goals for the team as well.
"I’m one of those strikers who just seems to have a knack of being in the right place at the right time. I always try to shoot when I’ve got the chance and I usually end up in the right place.
“I’m just focused on coming here and working as hard as I can for the team. I’ll put everything into every training session and every game, and hopefully the fans will see that if I do get to come on tomorrow. It’s amazing to see the messages from Carlisle and Newcastle fans on Twitter and Instagram, and I just want to show everyone what I can do."
Speaking about a playing career which has already taken from his native Denmark to Germany, and then on to one of the biggest clubs in England, he explained: “I’m from a small place in Denmark called Nakskov, which is in Lolland. I played for my local team there, and I was doing bits of training with the national team, but not actually playing. It was a bit like a development programme.
"They then pick the teams from those players, but I didn’t get into the national team. The good thing about that was that other teams come and watch the national team training, so there were other clubs watching me.
"I had a couple of trials for teams like Midtjylland and Nordsjælland, but I didn’t get anything with either of those teams. I went to a tournament in Koln in Germany and played well, and they signed me from there. Newcastle then saw me playing with them and they bought me from there.
“I found it tough when I first moved to Germany because I didn’t know anything or anyone. I didn’t know the language or anything like that, so it was difficult, but once I got used to it and made friends I loved it, and it was the same when I first came over here."
Very noticeable when he sits down to talk is the north-eastern accent which, he explained, often becomes the source of much comment and discussion.
“I picked up the Geordie accent really quickly!" he joked. "I think when I go back home my accent in Danish is still the same, but over here everybody laughs because I have a mixture of Geordie and Danish.
"It was a bit hard to understand the Geordie’s at first, but now I’ve picked their accent up as well it’s much easier."
And the speed at which he settled at St James' Park was rewarded in January this year with a new three-and-a-half year contract, which gives him the time he feels he needs to really make his mark.
“Newcastle is a massive club so when they give you a deal of that length it gives you so much confidence," he told us. "It’s a club with loads of history, and I just need to keep working hard and doing what I do.
"Shola told me that the gaffer here is tough and demanding, so I’ll just work my socks off every day and hopefully get some goals. I want to make sure I have a good season here so when I go back to Newcastle I’m in and around the first team squad.
"I feel like they believe in my because they recently gave me that contract, and I just want to prove to everyone I’m capable of playing for them and scoring some goals for them in the future.
“To be involved in the first team trip to China was amazing, and to be training with all of the first team players every day was just superb. I came on against Wolves, and I started against West Ham, and afterwards I said to my friend that we’ve now played for Newcastle’s first team, nobody can ever take that away from us, and it’s just a dream come true really.
"My real dream is to play for Newcastle and get that famous number nine shirt one day, and this is a step which can really help me towards doing that."
Having already been through his first training session with his new team mates here at Brunton Park, he commented: “The lads here were all really welcoming when I first came and they were all nice when I went in the dressing room and said hello.
"The training session was good, although we didn’t do much with it being the day before the game. I can tell that we have some really good players. When I came up to the house on Thursday night we were talking about the great result they got on Tuesday, and I could tell everyone was over the moon with it, it was a very impressive result.
“I think I should be involved in the squad tomorrow if everything goes to plan, and I’m just looking forward to getting out there and hopefully getting some minutes on the pitch. There’s a lot of competition in the squad, especially at the top end of the pitch, but I always enjoy competition.
"I think it’s good to have that in a team, people pushing for starting places. Every day in training I want to be better than the other strikers, and they all want to be better than me, but it’s healthy competition. If someone else is scoring goals I’ll be happy for them, and I hope it’s the same if it’s the other way around."
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