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Munda "delighted" to make second-string bow
After making his Newcastle United Under-21s debut last weekend, teenage midfielder Anthony Munda is hopeful of gaining more opportunities with his boyhood club at second-string level.
A representative of England at under-18 level, Munda was named on the bench for the young Magpies' Premier League 2 clash away at Blackburn Rovers on Sunday, 24 hours after playing for United's Under-18 side in their league encounter against local rivals Sunderland, before appearing as a second-half substitute in Lancashire.
The promising 17-year-old, who joined Newcastle's youth set-up in 2015, reflected positively on his maiden outing at under-21 level and is determined to add more appearances to his tally for Ben Dawson's side during the second-half of the 2023/24 campaign.
The Cowgate-born teenager told nufc.co.uk: "I was very happy to make my debut for the under-21s and, when I came on, I thought I made an impact on the game.
"I was playing for the under-18s on Saturday against Sunderland and I got a text from Graeme (Carrick) saying I'd be travelling down the next morning. It all happened quite quickly but I was delighted to get the chance to be involved in the squad.
"It's one thing being named in the squad but to come on and make my debut was even better. One of my targets is trying to be more involved with the under-21s until the end of the season.
"I'm delighted to be playing up in age groups and I think is a good step forward in my career if I aim to play for the first-team in the future.
"I'm pleased with how this season has been going so far. It's been a successful one in making my debut for the under-21s as well as playing for England (Under-18s) and I am grateful to have played in the UEFA Youth League.
"They've been good opportunities for myself which I can only learn from, playing against some of the best teams in Europe and playing with the best footballers in the country of my age group."
Munda will be targeting a full debut at under-21 level when Newcastle's youngsters face their Fleetwood Town counterparts on Wednesday, 31st January (kick-off 7pm GMT), aiming to move into second place of Group F with maximum points at Highbury Stadium.
Primarily a central midfielder, Munda is relishing the cup clash against the Cod Army, who claimed a 2-2 draw against the young Magpies in the reverse fixture at Whitley Park in October.
"We're looking forward to it," he added. "We know we haven't won a game in this competition yet so we'll be aiming to put that right on Wednesday.
"It adds more pressure knowing we have to get a strong result so we're all ready for the challenge and want to try and win our game in hand.
"Playing at Fleetwood's home ground will be different and all of the lads will be looking forward to playing at a League One stadium as it's something we don't usually do."