Sean Steur: Newcastle's new £23m teenage midfield maestro who idolises Barcelona's Pedri

Steur eased through the Ajax academy after joining the club at eight years old, making his debut for the first team against Heracles during the 2024-25 campaign. But Ajax fans had been given a glimpse of his talent long before then.

A year after he joined the youth setup, he was selected to perform keepy-uppys in front of the Johan Cruijff Arena crowd before an Eredivisie match against AZ. He managed to juggle the ball over 2,400 times and would have kept going, but he was told to stop so that the game could begin.

"My dream is to become a very good player at Ajax and then take a nice step forward," Steur said when he was named the club's Talent of the Year months after his debut. "I'm not thinking about the latter right now. First, I want to develop well here and try to learn a lot."

The Dutch giants considered loaning him to Volendam for the 2025-26 campaign, where he would reunite with his brother Roy, but the deal was blocked by Ajax advisor Louis van Gaal.

Recounting the story to Voetbal International months later, Steur said: "He was at a training session during the pre-season and afterwards we had a chat. In it, he said: 'With me, you would always play.' I thought that was a very nice compliment, coming from a very big name in football, of course. It also gave me enormous motivation at that moment, the feeling that there was confidence in me."

Steur was forced to wait for more first-team chances, though. Last season began with him further honing his talent in the second tier of Dutch football with Jong Ajax before head coach Fred Grim started naming him on the bench for the occasional Eredivisie game.

After a brief substitute appearance against Groningen in December 2025, he impressed in his first senior start by setting up an equaliser in a 4-2 Champions League win at Qarabag. Four days later, he was in the starting XI for the Klassieker showdown against Feyenoord in the Johan Cruijff Arena.

Steur looked right at home. Always on the hunt for the ball and looking to break forward, he was calm and collected despite the occasion as Ajax won 2-0 against their fierce rivals. From then on, he was rarely left out of the team.

Ex-Eredivisie star Kenneth Perez said on ESPN after the match: "I thought he was very good. He was actually the best midfielder on the pitch. He brought calmness. He wanted the ball. He is truly an example of how you like to see an Ajax player, in a team that doesn't play like Ajax.

"He exudes calmness and is not afraid of anything. He is only 17 years old. He was also very confident on the ball. He sets the pace and is not timid. I think Ajax likes to see their debutants like that.

"He is something that very many players at Ajax are not."

Months later, he came back to haunt Feyenoord in Rotterdam when he pounced on a bad clearance and blasted into the top corner to open the scoring – an indication of his rapid growth in stature.

Even as Ajax struggled to find consistency throughout a dismal campaign that saw them finish fifth in the Eredivisie, the homegrown star was often a bright spark. He started in the painful 3-1 defeat to Groningen that prompted Grim to step down as Ajax coach in early March. While he struggled defensively, Steur looked sound in possession again and earned praise from opposing manager Dick Lukkien, who said he "really got Ajax playing football".

Steur's youthful vibrance added some excitement to an often limp and tame team. Seeing the newest academy gem emerge with the aim of growing into a staple of the midfield for years to come raised spirits among the Amsterdam faithful.

Ajax were determined to tie the teenager to a new contract that would run until 2030, especially as interest from abroad grew over the season. Eintracht Frankfurt reportedly held talks with the Dutch team at the end of 2025 and before long the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United were credited with interest. With his contract running until 2028 and an extension looking likely, Ajax had no reason to panic.

"Fortunately, I have been able to play a lot of matches this year, learned a lot, and experienced a lot. I hope to benefit greatly from that next year," he told VI in April. "So, I hope to just develop really well next season and become a better player; that is my main goal."

He added: "To be honest, I try not to dwell on [my contract] too much. I have a good agent who is handling that; personally, I just try to focus on the remaining matches. They are incredibly important. But Ajax supporters don't need to worry."

The situation had already grown complicated by then. After technical director Alex Kroes was replaced by Jordi Cruyff in February, the Steur camp received mixed signals about the club's plans for the rising star, ESPN reported. Ajax began pursuing other, more experienced midfielders such as Real Madrid's Dani Ceballos. Furthermore, he was occasionally left out of the starting XI by caretaker coach Oscar Garcia towards the end of the season for defensive reasons and there was no certainty of a key role under new boss Michel.

Other reports have accused the player's father, Johan, of asking for too much money in the negotiations. It has also been claimed he presented Cruyff with a list of demands and a guaranteed starting XI spot for his son, causing further tension with the Ajax decision-makers.

The uncertainty provided a window of opportunity with clubs in England, Germany and Italy showing legitimate interest, but Newcastle were first to rush in and wrap up a deal as they looked to replenish their midfield.

The quality of his first touch, desire to always drive forward with the ball and his precise passing all stand out when watching the midfielder. He has a quick turn, plays with his head up as he scans the pitch for the best available option, and is strong with both feet.

"He is good on the ball, he can delay play, and he can spot solutions. He is simply a good player, and we're very happy with him," Grim said during his time in charge. "Sean is important to the way we build-up; he comes out to collect a lot of balls to distribute the play from the back line."

The Volendam native has been compared to Frenkie de Jong for his tendency to drop back with the aim of sparking a quick attack, but his true inspirations are Barcelona and Spain hero Pedri, Real Madrid's Federico Valverde and Paris Saint-Germain's Vitinha.

"Those players are my role models, the ones I hope to measure myself against in the future. It is my dream to get there someday, and I am confident about that," he told VI, revealing his admiration for La Liga.

"I used to watch Andres Iniesta a lot, for example when he played El Clasico with Barcelona. Actually, that was before my time, but when I was about 10 years old, I could already understand football; fortunately, he was still playing just fine back then. In recent years, I've been watching players like Pedri and Vitinha more. I think Federico Valverde is really good too, but he's a different type of player, of course.

"I have a particularly vivid image of Pedri. I really love watching him; he is truly my favourite player. His composure, his intelligence, getting out of tight spaces. It looks so easy when he does it; it is simply a joy to watch."

Steur has set the bar high with his early displays and career ambitions, but few would bet against him going far in the game. He does, however, have some deficiencies he needs to work on.

He was challenged by Oscar Garcia to become more of a direct threat, having ended the season with just one goal and two assists across all competitions. He did not fare any better in the Eerste Divisie with Jong Ajax before his breakthrough.

"That is definitely something I want to add to my game," Steur said to ESPN. "I need to become more decisive in the final stages. I need to shoot more. Creating chances is okay, but everything needs to be better. I am convinced that this will come. I am working on that in training.

"I watch back a lot of footage to see which situations I handled well or should have handled differently. I think my type of player should score around eight to 10 goals per season."

The defensive side of his game needs even more work.

Garcia found the Ajax midfield was too easily exposed and lacked steel in matches he started and put him back on the bench. He faced criticism for his complacency in the 2-1 loss at home to Twente. The teenager ran out of steam and allowed Bart van Rooij to stroll away from him and win possession before going on to fire in the late winner.

"After that goal, I actually felt a bit guilty," Steur admitted. "It's difficult to explain exactly what happens at such a moment, but it is part of my position to sprint along in such a situation. That is something I need to improve on."

It was not the only time he had looked shaky. Sometimes he appears defensively apathetic and is hesitant to fight for the ball, resulting in him often going missing when Ajax are not in control. Even in the performance that earned Lukkien’s praises, he faced criticism for seemingly shying away from his duty.

"The problem with those boys is that, from the Ajax school of thought, it's all about: what do you do with the ball? But you are a midfielder; what do you do without the ball? At some point, you have to try to win the ball back. They are running in circles in the midfield, as it were, without ever getting into a duel," former PSV midfielder Arnold Bruggink said, summing up the issue in Steur's game.

"We really hammered that home with him in the youth academy," Grim said in January. "That Sean needed to take more responsibility in that regard. But he is picking that up well: in training, you can see that he is working on it tremendously."

"We see real potential in Sean and believe he has the characteristics to become a valuable player for us for years to come," Eddie Howe said when Newcastle announced his arrival on a five-year contract.

The new signing may have grown concerned when the manager stepped down a few weeks later, but he earned the approval of some Newcastle fans with his display in a friendly against Gateshead. On the other hand, many in the Netherlands are sceptical about his Premier League hopes. His talent is obvious, but he is inexperienced and must still develop in all areas of his game.

If he gets a chance under new boss Jaissle this season, there will be little room for error and a rapid adaptation to the pace and demands is a necessity given Newcastle have lost Tonali and Guimaraes will soon follow him through the exit.

"He is a talent, a great talent, but that is all there is to say," Wim Kieft, who won six Eredivisie titles with Ajax and PSV, said in response to the move. The Euro 1988 winner argued that he has only truly impressed on two or three occasions and has been nowhere near decisive enough to justify a Premier League switch.

"Steur is doomed to fail at Newcastle United," he added.

A self-assured young midfielder, Steur is sure he can prove his critics wrong. He is talented, ambitious and determined to succeed after making the brave decision to swap Amsterdam for Tyneside. Now, it's up to him to live up to the hype.