Kelland Watts has signed for Plymouth Argyle on loan for the 2020/21 season as he looks to continue his development.
Steve Bruce is fully equipped with centre backs so Watts going out on loan allows him to gain valuable experience in a different league and in different formations and styles which will help him break into Newcastle United's first team next season.
Watts spent the first half of last season on loan at Stevenage enjoying a good run of games despite languishing near the drop zone for most of the campaign.
He then went on to enjoy another consistent period of game time on loan at Mansfield Town who were also battling against the drop into the National League.
Happy to keep developing
Watts spoke to NUFC TV before making the long trip down to Plymouth to complete his move and meet up with his new teammates.
He said: "There's some big clubs in League One that I'm looking forward to playing against so I keep progressing each season".
After spending all of last season on loan in League Two Watts is making the step up to the next league after making his debut against Liverpool in the final game of the Premier League season.
Watts came on as a substitute for the final 15 minutes after impressing in training since returning from his loan spell with Mansfield, which was cut short due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Eyes for the first team
Watts is a modern-day centre back as he likes to bring the ball forward and has an eye for a forward pass. He enjoys being a ball-playing centre back, which is something Newcastle lack at the moment, one of the reasons he is thought of highly within the club.
He added: "In your career, you never want to be standing still so getting that step up into League One is giving me that opportunity.
"I'm going there for a reason, to play for Newcastle's first team hopefully."
Bruce told Watts to 'enjoy it' and will be keeping a close eye on the promising youngster who could break into the first team next season, after just signing a new deal earlier this year.