James hunting for Premier League Cup victory

The young Magpies, situated in second place of their respective group on two points, will leapfrog their Forest counterparts should they record maximum points at Whitley Park this weekend.

The two sides recently met in September during a 1-1 draw in the Premier League 2 and Huntley, who joined Newcastle’s youth set-up as an eight-year-old, is hopeful United’s second-string can build on their previous two fixtures in this season's group stages following a 1-1 away draw at Huddersfield Town and a 2-2 draw at home to Fleetwood Town.

The Ashington-born midfielder, who signed his first professional contract with his boyhood club in the summer of 2022, told nufc.co.uk: “I think we need to go and win. We’ve played two cup games already, drawing them both, and if we want to qualify for the latter rounds of the cup, winning this game would give us a great chance in doing so.

“Forest are a good side but a one we know we can beat. I think we felt a bit frustrated that we didn’t take all three points against them in the league game so we want to go the full way and get three points this time.

“I think we’ve given a good account of ourselves (in the Premier League Cup) so far. In the first game against Huddersfield, they had a few first team players in their side so a point away from home was not a bad result and then against Fleetwood, I think we were disappointed not to get the win after being 2-0 up, conceding from set pieces, but it was a point gained.

“If we finish top of our group, that will only bring confidence to the whole squad so we’re determined to do that.”

Huntley recently featured for Newcastle’s Under-19 side during a 2-2 draw against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Youth League on Tuesday, scoring a late equaliser as the Toon teenagers recovered from a two-goal deficit at half-time to secure the club's first ever point in the competition's history.

The 19-year-old, who moved from central midfield to a central attacking role during the latter stages of the Group F clash, reflected on his positive contribution in front of goal as well as the team's courageous fightback against the German outfit.

“I’ll play in any position - I just like to do my job for the team,” Huntley added. "Getting put as a striker, the aim was to score which I did so I was happy to contribute in a positive way.

"I probably should’ve scored beforehand so I thought I had to score and make amends so I was pleased with my finish.

“It was a bittersweet result because we wanted to get three points but to go two goals down and draw away from home is not a bad result looking at it even if we’d like to have won the game.

“A lot of experience was gained as we had a lot of younger lads involved, which is good for them moving forward, and also for the older ones in playing against the so-called biggest youth teams in the world."

Season ticket holders can gain free admission for Saturday's Premier League Cup clash against Nottingham Forest at Whitley Park, otherwise it's £3 for adults and £1 concessions.