Two Newcastle United youngsters handed first-team call-up following Man City defeat

Newcastle United have called up Joe White and Alex Murphy to their warm weather training squad out in Dubai - the Gazette understands. Neither White nor Murphy featured in Newcastle United Under-21’s victory over Sunderland at the Academy of Light, despite both being key players for Ben Dawson’s side. 

Murphy and White have both been on the fringes of the Magpies squad this season and have made their respective Premier League debuts after impressive form during pre-season and on-loan at Crewe Alexandra respectively.

The Magpies, who were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City at the weekend, are currently out in Dubai for a mid-season training camp ahead of the final ten games of the Premier League season. Last year, the club embarked on a similar trip and enjoyed an upturn in results after returning to England - something they will be keen to repeat this time around as the race for continental qualification heats up.

Speaking about the trip, Howe said: "As always, there’ll be a period of relaxation for the players after what has been a very busy period. We’ve got some injuries to try to get players fit for our next game.

"Then there’ll be a period of work where we’ll analyse today’s game and then pick the pieces up and work. I don’t know at the moment what that will be, but of course looking ahead to our next opponent, we’ll get some good work in. We’ll get some fitness work in and we’ll come back stronger for it."