Newcastle United academy prospect, Joe White is currently enjoying a successful loan spell at Exeter City but is hoping to take advantage of Newcastle’s success to force his way into Eddie Howe’s plans next season.
The 20-year-old playmaker spoke to The Chronicle about his journey so far at Newcastle and his plans for the future.
Joe White had a rocky start to this season having to miss out on Newcastle’s pre-season trip to Austria through injury which in turn prevented him from finding a club to go to on loan in the summer. All of this came off the back of a dismal loan spell at Hartlepool United.
Joe White had a nightmare start to the season
White recalls: “For me, Hartlepool last season didn’t go exactly how I wanted it to. If you look back as a first loan, I wouldn’t say it was a failed loan or anything. It’s just me, how I felt and what I said to Newcastle when I came back.
“That’s what I told everyone my initial feeling was towards it. It could have gone better. I spoke with Ben [Dawson] and a lot of coaches, and just said I was a bit frustrated. It’s about taking what you’ve learnt into this loan [with Exeter] and new experiences to come.”
Since moving to Exeter, White has made 10 appearances and become something of a fan favourite while playing under his former Newcastle coach, Gary Caldwell.
With things going much better for White down at Exeter he has now set his sights on breaking into the first team at Newcastle and plans to use European qualification to his advantage should the Magpies finish in one of the top spots.
European qualification could be the key for White’s breakthrough
The playmaker said: “It’s definitely exciting, I don’t see it as daunting. I’ve got mates that played for the ‘Big Six’ clubs and obviously with them being in Europe, there’s many more games.
“Hopefully we can do well in every competition and hopefully in the near future we’ll have Europe to look forward to. Looking at the amount of games, it gives you a chance of impressing as a youngster and getting minutes on the pitch.
“I know it’s not up to anyone else but me, there’s only me that can make that dream come true. That is still my ambition, whether it goes that way or not, I’ll work as hard as I can which is what I’ve always done to try and get to where I want to be.”
Obviously stepping up from League One into the Premier League is a big leap, but it certainly sounds like White’s got his head on straight and knows what’s needed of him.
Hopefully this summer he remains fit enough that Eddie Howe can get a proper look at him and can assess how close he is to making his first-team breakthrough.
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