Newcastle United confirm loan exit as Eddie Howe makes Lewis Miley admission

Newcastle United have confirmed young goalkeeper Max Thompson has completed the first loan move of his career after agreeing to join League One club Northampton Town.

The 19-year-old will compete for a starting place with former Sunderland goalkeeper Lee Burge after joining the Cobblers on a deal that will keep him with third tier club until the January transfer window.

Thompson is highly-rated within the Magpies academy but is yet to make his senior debut after becoming a regular in the youth ranks at St James Park. The young stopper has made a breakthrough at international level and appeared alongside Manchester City star Rico Lewis and Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Bynoe-Gittens during his first two appearances for England Under-18s.

He will now look to continue his development at Sixfields after he became the latest United youngster to agree to a loan move away from Tyneside this summer. Under-21s left-back Matty Bondswell has already joined League Two club Newport County and January signing Harrison Ashby is spending the season in the Championship with Swansea City.

Winger Yankuba Minteh has also departed on a temporary deal by joining Dutch giants Feyenoord after joining the Magpies in a reported £6million deal from Danish club Odense earlier this summer. A further loan departure is expected over the coming days with Australian youngster Garang Kuol closing in on a move to Eredivise club FC Volendam. Several other Magpies prospects are attracting interest from clubs across the EFL - but one player that will remain on Tyneside is highly-rated midfielder Lewis Miley.

The 17-year-old has not looked out of place during United’s pre-season schedule and he will remain at St James Park to continue his development. Speaking about Miley’s progress and future prospects in the aftermath of Sunday’s win against Villarreal, Magpies boss Eddie Howe admitted he will ‘protect’ the midfielder as he looks to nurture his obvious talent.

He said: “I think today was a really good experience for him, no doubt. He is playing in front of a big crowd against top level opposition.

“I thought he was getting a little bit tired towards the end so I took him off to try to protect him. I think that is where I have to be with him. I have to protect him and nurture his talent. These are important years for him, so we have to push him and protect him at the same time. So hopefully I can get that decision right.”