JERMAINE JENAS is ready to take teenager James Milner under his wing at Newcastle United.

Despite being just 21, Jenas knows all about trying to make a name for himself at St James' Park following a big money transfer.

And he is ready to relay his own experiences to new kid on the block Milner after his £3.6m, rising to £5m, switch from Leeds United.

Just three years ago Jenas arrived from Nottingham Forest with a big reputation despite his tender years.

But, after taking time to settle on Tyneside, in his first full season at the Magpies he was crowned PFA Young Player of the Year.

And, following Milner's arrival, Jenas believes Newcastle's first summer buy can become a star on the Newcastle stage under the tutelage of boss Sir Bobby Robson.

"I'd like to help him to settle in. He has come in similar circumstances to me, as an 18-year-old with a large price tag on his head, so I know what he will be going through. It can be tough, but he doesn't look like somebody who gets nervous," said Jenas, after spending the past three days in pre-season training with him.

"He will have been helped by the fact he started his career at Leeds United. I made a bigger leap from the First Division with Nottingham Forest to playing in the Premiership.

"He has played Premiership football already so that will help him as well. He has come here to develop as a player just as I did.

"You just have to get used to the constant focus on you and it can be hard, but he has people around him to help him."

Milner can play on either flank or through the middle and it is that versatility which persuaded Robson to sign the player.

The 18-year-old is already being talked about as an England international in the not too distant future. By investing in Milner, it is another sign of the club's strategy to buy youth - with the likes of Jenas, Kieron Dyer and Darren Ambrose already on board.

And Jenas is convinced having a number of young guns around will help the England Under-21 international to find his feet in the North-East sooner rather than later.

"James Milner is a big talent, there is no doubt about that and he is an exciting prospect," said Jenas. "One of the reasons why I chose to join Newcastle was this policy of buying young players with loads of potential.

"We have a core of very good young players at this club. Kieron is the oldest and he is still only 25, then there is Craig Bellamy, Jonathan Woodgate, Shola Ameobi, Andy O'Brien, Titus Bramble, Darren Ambrose and now James Milner."

Robson has been boosted at the start of pre-season by having Jonathan Woodgate available for training.

Woodgate, a former teammate of Milner's at Leeds, had to miss England's Euro 2004 push with a thigh injury. And that proved the latest in a long line of problems for the Teessider, who was troubled with hernia and hamstring problems last season.