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Rolando Aarons, to use his own word, was “knackered” on his Wednesday evening out in Manchester.

Good grief. Imagine what the teenager would have been like if he’d had been a bit more awake.

Two training sessions. That’s all he had before Alan Pardew decided the 18-year-old was fit to face Manchester City.

He only lasted 45 minutes. It was enough.

Aarons ran the City players ragged before he ran himself into the ground. It was a brilliant performance capped with a superb goal.

It does make you wonder what he’s going to be capable of when he is 100 per cent. Whisper it, but Newcastle United just might have a player on their hands.

Aarons was honest enough to admit while his first-half show was enjoyable there was no way he was going to come out for the second.

He said: “It wasn’t a knock. To be honest I was just knackered.

“I came in at the break and it was pretty obvious I was exhausted.

“I only trained on Monday and Tuesday – that was pretty much the only real work I’d done for six weeks.

“I didn’t know I was going to be starting, so when the gaffer told me I was going to be starting the game, there was a little bit of me that thought, ‘Am I ready?’

“The early goal settled all that down. I think I proved to myself that I’m back and ready to play as much as possible now.”

Here’s a stat for you.

Aarons has enjoyed a grand total of 67 touches in his professional career so far.

Has he wasted one yet?

Two goals, one shot that came off the bar which led to a goal, plus numerous mazy dribbles.

It’s not a bad start, is it?

Aarons added: “I’m aware of people talking (about him), but it doesn’t really bother me.

“I’m just focusing on playing football and what other people are saying about me, or the praise I’ve been getting, doesn’t really affect what I’m doing.

“I know I can play much better than I have been and I’m just working on my game every day in training to try to make sure that happens. I’m trying to improve.

“I always hoped this would be my breakthrough season.

“I worked really hard last year to try to get to a position where I could challenge for the first team and when I came back for pre-season I was planning to break through and really push myself.

“I wasn’t expecting to come to the Etihad and score within six minutes, though.

“It was an unbelievable night and a crazy game.

“I’m really happy I scored, but I’m even happier the team went through because that’s always the main thing in cup games.”

Aarons has been compared to Raheem Sterling, which is a bit silly, but they are both young, wingers, were born in Jamaica and have pledged their lives to England.

There is even a suggestion the two were born in the same hospital.

However, the Newcastle lad rather sensibly is having none of it.

Aarons said: “Raheem Sterling has played really well for the last two or three seasons and I’m nowhere near that level yet.

“I’m not Raheem Sterling – and Raheem Sterling is not me.

“I don’t want people to compare us, although he’s a player that I admire.

“I’m nothing like him and I have a long way to go before I can even consider myself to be anywhere like that.

“He’s played for England at the World Cup, and I’ve only played three or four games for Newcastle United.

“I don’t think there’s any reason to get carried away. I’m just focusing on playing football.

“Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to play in the same game as him at the weekend, and if that happens I might ask for his shirt.

“Why not? He’s a good player. Whatever happens, I definitely won’t be swapping at half-time though.”

Things have changed for Newcastle. Three wins, three fines wins as wel, and they in the quarter-final of the Capital One Cup.

Aarons said: “It’s a massive result for the club and even though people might not have expected it we always believed it was possible. We never really doubt ourselves.

“We just needed a bit of a lift and I think we got that with the way we played and won at Spurs.

“That gave us massive confidence and we were able to take that into the Man City game and win again.

“We’ll be taking it into the next game against Liverpool now and hopefully that will go well for us, too.

“I think it helps to have so many of us young players playing in these games together. Young players help to bring enthusiasm and drive, and I think that showed. It’s benefiting us because we won at Palace and City, and we’ve won the last two games in the league as well.

“There are massive games coming up but I don’t want to look too far ahead.

“ I’m just hoping I’ll be involved in the Liverpool game – that’s my main focus.”

Aarons is a young man with the world at his feet and his feet on the ground. Good on him.