Joe White has signed his first professional contract with Newcastle United, and he’s already plotting a route to the first-team.
The teenager has been earning rave reviews for his performances for the youth sides and has even been training with the first-team despite his tender years.
White has just turned 17, but has already seen firsthand that academy players will get a chance to prove themselves in the senior side.
Matty Longstaff is just two years older than White, but got his Premier League debut the other week against Manchester United, scoring the winner. He got to play alongside his brother Sean, who got his big break at the start of the year. Since then, he’s started pretty much every game possible.
And White has claimed that the Longstaff brothers have inspired him.
“I’d also like to get a good run with the under-18s in the FA Youth Cup this year, and just to try to get as many opportunities as possible training with the first team as well,” he told the club’s official website.
“With Matty and Sean Longstaff both coming from the Academy and both being central midfielders like me, it gives me great confidence that if I keep working hard and keep continuing to develop as a player, then anything is possible.”
If White lives up to his potential then anything truly is possible, and in a few years we might see him starting a Premier League game alongside the Longstaff brothers in front of a packed out St James’ Park.
Despite still being young themselves, the Longstaffs are proving to be an inspiration for the next generation.
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