Newcastle United duo unavailable v Fulham due to FA Cup rule & transfer decision

Newcastle United travel to Fulham in the FA Cup fourth round this Saturday (7pm kick-off).

The Magpies head to Craven Cottage with a depleted squad with the likes of Joelinton, Joe Willock and Harvey Barnes ruled out while Callum Wilson and Jacob Murphy are doubts. Due to the injury situation, Newcastle have welcomed youngsters Max Thompson and Joe White back from their respective loan spells at Northampton Town and Crewe Alexandra to help bolster the first-team squad.

Both goalkeeper Thompson and midfielder White enjoyed successful half-season loan spells and have returned to Tyneside for further assessment in a first-team environment. But neither player will be involved in the squad to face Fulham this weekend.

Both players are cup-tied having featured in the earlier rounds of the competition whilst on loan. Thompson started in goal for Northampton in a 3-1 first-round defeat against Barrow while White has three FA Cup appearances under his belt so far this season. He started for Crewe in the 2-2 draw and 3-1 replay win over Derby County in the first round as well as the 4-2 defeat to Bristol Rovers in the second.

FA Cup rules prevent players from representing two clubs in the competition in the same season. While Thompson was unlikely to get into the side ahead of goalkeepers Mark Gillespie, Loris Karius and Martin Dubravka, White may have had an opportunity due to a lack of options in midfield for The Magpies.

Joelinton has recently been ruled out for the remainder of the season while Joe Willock and Elliot Anderson are still weeks away from returning. As a result, White returns to Newcastle as fourth-choice central midfielder behind Bruno Guimaraes, Sean Longstaff and Lewis Miley.

Reflecting on White's return, Howe said: "It is [an opportunity for him]. We've decided to bring Joe back and we'll see where he's at in terms of his development.

"He's done very well, especially latterly in his loan so I'm really pleased with Joe. He's a really highly-talented player who had certain things to work on in his loan and he's gone away and he's played regularly and started to contribute goals and assists.

"We'll bring him back and see where his game is at and then make a decision based on that with what we do with him."