Newcastle United may not be close to signing first-team additions at St James' Park but the Magpies are wasting no time securing loan deals for their own under-21 talent this month. Newcastle have confirmed three temporary exits in the space of 24 hours as Dan Ashworth and Shola Ameobi find suitable locations for the club's up and coming talent.
Young prospect Joe White has joined League One side Exeter City until the end of the season after impressing for the club's reserves in recent months. The move sees the highly-rated midfielder link up with former St James' Park defender Gary Caldwell who manages the third tier outfit.
Kell Watts, who spent the first-half of the season on loan at Peterborough, will continue his stay in League One after extending his deal with The Posh until the end of the season. Watts' start to the campaign was hampered by injury but new Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson admits he is pleased to see the young centre-back stay with the club.
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"I know Kell from his time at Wigan Athletic at this level and he provides good balance on the left-hand side so I am pleased that we have been able to confirm an extension for him until the end of the season," Ferguson said on Friday.
Newcastle have also cut short Dan Langley's loan at Gateshead, opting to send the goalkeeper to Spennymoor Town until the end of the campaign. Moors manager Jason Ainsley has been a keen admirer of the shot-stopper after watching him in a pre-season friendly last summer.
“Dan has a real physical presence about him and, from speaking to him, I can tell that he is a very determined young lad," he said after the loan deal was announced. "He played for Gateshead against us in pre-season and was excellent, so we got to see him first hand and we know what he’s all about."
The three loan deals come just days after Newcastle Under-21 Lead Player Development Coach Elliott Dickman was relieved of his duties after a poor run of form. The club are now on the hunt for his replacement before the youngsters return to action against Aston Villa U21s on Monday.
As for first team exits, Howe admits Garang Kuol will be shipped out on a temporary basis this month. Elliot Anderson and Jamal Lewis will both remain beyond the end of the January window.
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