Newcastle United to be punished by UEFA rules after confirming transfer move

Newcastle United have confirmed that midfielder Joe White will join Leyton Orient on-loan. Despite featuring during their defeat to Celtic, White didn’t travel with Eddie Howe’s first-team on their trip to Asia as he finalised a loan move away from the club.

After spending last season in League Two with MK Dons, White will now spend this campaign in League One with an Orient side that narrowly missed out on promotion to the Championship in last season’s play-offs. The 22-year-old made four substitute appearances for the Magpies during the 2023/24 season and has two years left on his current contract at St James’ Park.

Speaking about his move to Orient, White said: “This has been on the cards for a few weeks and, once Newcastle told me that I’d be allowed to go out on loan, Leyton Orient was my first choice.

“I saw a lot of the team towards the end of last season, and it was a really exciting one to watch. I’ve got better with every loan spell I’ve had and I believe that my skills can really contribute to us having an entertaining team again this season.

“I’m not someone who is happy to sit back and not play. I’m here because I want to play games and I’m determined to help Leyton Orient succeed this season.”

Manager Richie Wellens added: "Joe's someone I have admired for a really long time. He's very well thought of at Newcastle and once again we have seen a Premier League side put their trust in us due to our track record of developing younger players.

“He is comfortable anywhere in the midfield three midfield positions, and we're all delighted with the signing. He brings a goal threat and a great range of passing to us, and we're confident we can bring the best out of him. We know we had to make a lot of signings this window due to our departures, and Joe was someone we identified early on as being someone we wanted to bring in."

Newcastle United to be punished by UEFA rules

Newcastle United sealed Champions League qualification last season and will have to adhere to UEFA squad rules in that competition next season. UEFA rules require at least four club-trained players to be named in a squad in order to fill the full 25-man quota for the Champions League.

Currently, there are no senior players that fulfill this requirement. White, along with Sean Longstaff had filled this requirement, but neither will be at the club next season with White spending the campaign at Brisbane Road whilst Longstaff’s move to Leeds United, for £12m plus add-ons, was completed earlier this month.

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The departures of Paul Dummett and Elliot Anderson last summer left the Magpies very thin in this area and whilst someone like Lewis Miley can be classed as club-trained, as he’s under the age of 21, he does not need to be included in the main squad list.

The punishment for breaking this rule would mean that Newcastle United’s Champions League squad will be limited to just 21 senior players in all. It’s likely that some of those players trimmed from their Premier League squad for Champions League action will come in the goalkeeping department - one that currently stands at six-strong with the imminent arrival of Aaron Ramsdale from Southampton.