Bradley Cross SA players in English Premier League

Mogamat Bull of South Africa (l) and Bradley Cross of South Africa celebrate winning the 2017 COSAFA U20 Final football match between South Africa and Lesotho at Arthur Davies Stadium, Kitwe on 16 December 2017 ©Chris Ricco/BackpagePix

Bradley Cross: SA defender in Newcastle United first-XI training after Tokyo Olympic snub – pictures

South African junior international Bradley Cross, was spotted training with English Premier League side Newcastle United’s first team on Wednesday.

Bradley Cross SA players in English Premier League

Mogamat Bull of South Africa (l) and Bradley Cross of South Africa celebrate winning the 2017 COSAFA U20 Final football match between South Africa and Lesotho at Arthur Davies Stadium, Kitwe on 16 December 2017 ©Chris Ricco/BackpagePix

South African junior international Bradley Cross was spotted training with English Premier League side Newcastle United’s first team on Wednesday.

READ | Bradley Cross: SA youth international joins Newcastle United

The Amajita centre back joined the ‘Toon’ on a two-year deal earlier in the season, after impressing their u23’s staff in a short trial. It did not take long for the 20-year-old to prove his worth within the Magpies academy structures, with his leadership qualities apparent early on.

Bradley Cross made an immediate impact at Newcastle

That then catapulted the left-footed Cross to the captaincy role, very shortly after his arrival. That rapid rise seemed to have caught the South African fraternity my surprise and subsequently heightened expectations. Unfortunately, his progression trajectory hasn’t included a Premier League debut yet, but Wednesday’s pictures make for promising viewing.

Cross, a product of the now-defunct Bidvest Wits Academy posted pictures of himself in full training with the Newcastle side. One including an image of him keeping close tabs on the elusive Allan Saint-Maximim. Having made 20 appearances for Newcastle u23s in the Premier League 2 Division 2 many keen observers of his progress could argue that it is just reward for his consistency and continued growth.

SAFA overlooked Bradley Cross for Olympics selection

Despite all the strides Cross has been making on Tyneside, it seems to have gone unnoticed by SAFA, finding himself omitted from the preliminary u23 Olympics squad. Coach David Notoane opted for the likes of skipper Tercious Malepe, Luke Fleurs and Katlego Mohamme as his only centre back options in the 40-man preliminary squad for the showpiece.

He continues to be overlooked by SAFA

That, however, was not the first time the COSAFA Cup winner found himself snubbed for a major tournament by a junior national team coach. In 2019 despite making the U20 World Cup preliminary squad, then Amajita coach Thabo Senong opted against taking Cross with him to Poland. This despite being on top form for German Bundesliga side Schalke 04’s u19’s at that time.

Cross, who is equally at home at left-back, could be forgiven for scratching his head thinking what else he needs to do to convince the national selectors. He can find solace from his first-team training call up however and feel like it’s only a matter of time till he breaks through at club level.

It is also noteworthy that Cross is a double passport holder, and as he continues to be overlooked by SAFA, he continues to edge closer to the Newcastle first-team squad. Should he make the breakthrough it could be only a matter of time till the England u21s start to monitor his progress.