Benefiting from Gordon sale and emerging youngsters

[BBC] [Getty Images] We asked you to send in your questions for BBC Sport's Newcastle United reporter Ciaran Kelly before the summer transfer window opens. In the first part of a special Q&A, he focuses on how Anthony Gordon's big-money move to Barcelona could benefit the Magpies in the market and which youngsters could follow in Lewis Miley's footsteps. Matt asked: How much of a leash have the recruitment team got this summer? With the sale of Gordon, will this give us strong opportunity to compete for stronger players? Ciaran: A big sale was definitely a necessity to unlock some headroom and enable Newcastle to reinvest. So finalising Gordon's £69.3m switch to Barcelona before the window even opened felt like an important first step this summer. But Gordon will still leave a gap. There were a few penalties along the way, but he scored 17 goals for Newcastle last season - more than any other player. He is a regular starter for England. He was used to the intensity and physicality of the Premier League. Newcastle do not necessarily have the capability to bring in a replacement with an even stronger profile given the wages and fees such talents command. However, they are looking for younger players who would not cost as much as Gordon right now, but who have immense potential that can be realised in the right hands. Newcastle's pursuit of Victor Munoz is a case in point. He is already a Spain international, but the 22-year-old winger has just completed his first full season as a first-team player at Osasuna. By moving for him now, Newcastle could secure Munoz for nearly half the fee Gordon commanded and, potentially, before other clubs are prepared to step in. Danny asked: Does Eddie Howe believe he has any players in the reserves or academy like Miley who are ready to make a breakthrough to the first team? Ciaran answered: Miley really is the club's crown jewel. He is Newcastle's youngest debutant in the Premier League and Champions League and no-one in the club's history has scored a goal for the club in both competitions at such a tender age. That is quite a benchmark, but there are a few others who Howe has kept a close eye on. Sean Neave, Alex Murphy and Leo Shahar have obviously been in and around the first team for a while now and winger Park Seung-soo was named on the bench on the opening day last season. Beyond that quartet, Rory Finneran, who has already won a senior cap for the Republic of Ireland at just 18, has trained with the first team, as has fellow midfielder Mason Miley, the younger brother of Lewis. Newcastle's senior players at the World Cup will be given about three weeks off once they finish up at the tournament, so I could see Howe bringing several youngsters to the club's pre-season training camp in Spain in July. That will give them a chance to really impress. Then there could be decisions to be made as the summer goes on regarding who may benefit from a loan or who has impressed enough to stay around the first-team environment. Keep across this page on Friday for parts two and three of Ciaran's Q&A, which will look at subjects including the striker situation and whether Howe has dropped some hints about the coming season.