Newcastle United starlet Joe White on his first-team hopes, dressing room view on £305m takeover, loan move and academy investment

The Carlisle-born midfielder is aiming to become the next player to break into the first team set-up, just like teammate Elliot Anderson did last year.

To some degree, White has already achieved that. He appeared for Steve Bruce’s side in pre-season against Burton Albion and Rotherham United and was named on the bench for the Premier League fixture at Manchester United last month.

But as the 19-year-old admitted himself, there’s still a lot of hard work required.

“I’m loving my football at the minute,” White told the Gazette, fresh after assisting two goals in the youngsters' 2-1 win over local rivals Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. “I can’t score at the minute! But I’m getting assists.

“I’m training with the first team most days which is obviously good for me personally as I’m learning every day from Premier League players.”

White wasn’t only the under-23s regular to be called up to the senior squad in pre-season.

The likes of Dan Langley, Jack Young, Matthew Bondswell were handed minutes but White stood out, particularly during his 37-minute cameo at the Pirelli Stadium.

It only fuelled the modest youngster's desire to make it a more regular occurrence.

White said: “It was a massive step and for me personally, a massive learning curve.

“It just gives you a taste of what it’s like. It pushes you to work harder every day, especially when training with the first team.

“The first team is where I want to be eventually, whether it’s short term or long term. I want to be making competitive and Premier League debuts.

“I just need to keep working hard and see where it takes me.”

With White currently flying high in the under-23s following his first team involvement, would a loan move interest him?

“Anything can happen," White admitted.

“At the moment, I’m just very happy here, happy to keep playing football for the under-23s and focus on getting my numbers up in terms of goals and assists.

“We’ve had a good start to the season and I want to help us get as far up the table as possible.”

Indeed, White is a gem in an academy that has, under the Mike Ashley era, struggled to produce first team stars.

However, following the Saudi Arabian-backed £305million takeover, promised investment into Little Benton will go a long way to changing that to nurture and attract the region's finest talent.

White said: “It’s up to us really.

“Each and every one of us needs to work hard because there’s going to be more competition in the academy and first team.

“If you think you’re working at 100% now then you need to work that extra bit more.”

“Definitely,” White replied when asked if the takeover had created a new buzz.

“All of us were at the Tottenham game and the atmosphere, even an hour before kick-off, was crazy.

“Walking into the stadium, it was just… we’ve got our club back!"

For all the high-profile signings linked to Newcastle, a look closer to home could be just as equally important.

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