Former Lewes winger, who has body doubled for Neymar and Ronaldo, makes Newcastle debut

A former Lewes winger said it was an 'unbelievable experience' as he made his bow for Newcastle United on Tuesday night in the FA Cup.
Yasin Ben El-Mhanni in action for Lewes against Hampton and Richmond last year. Picture by James BoyesYasin Ben El-Mhanni in action for Lewes against Hampton and Richmond last year. Picture by James Boyes
Yasin Ben El-Mhanni in action for Lewes against Hampton and Richmond last year. Picture by James Boyes

Yasin Ben El-Mhanni signed for the Magpies last July after catching the eye of many top-flight clubs.

The 21-year-old Moroccan is also YouTube hit with his scintilliating skills reel and has also doubled for Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona rival Neymar in adverts.

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The left-sided player was one of Darren Freeman's first signings at Lewes when he took over towards the end of 2015.

From there he trialled at Premier League giants Chelsea, featuring for their under-21s, following another invitation to train at West Brom.

On Tuesday night he made his bow for North East giants Newcastle and played 70 minutes in their FA Cup third-round 3-1 win at home to Birmingham.

El-Mhanni was clearly delighted to make his first start for the senior side and tweeted: "Unbelievable experience to make my full debut at St James Park, amazing support from the fans."

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The former Aldershot and Farnborough player was scouted by a number of clubs when playing for the Rooks in the Ryman League last season.

Before this week, he had been playing for Newcastle's under-21s and under-23s, the latter in the Premier League 2 division.

El-Mhanni, who is based is London, is contracted with Newcastle until the summer of 2018.