Teenage Cumbrian Premier League prospect Joe White has signed a major new contract with Newcastle United.

The Carlisle-born midfielder has put pen to paper on a three-year deal at St James' Park.

It underlines Newcastle's faith in the promising England youth international, who is currently on loan at Hartlepool United.

White, whose grandfather is the late former Carlisle United and Workington Reds man Peter Hampton, has been on Newcastle's academy books since 2016.

The 19-year-old had been attracting interest from a number of top clubs, including Celtic, Rangers and Chelsea.

But he has now committed his future to Newcastle.

Speaking on the Magpies' website, White said: "I'm delighted to have signed until 2025.

"It's been a good few months for the club, it looks like we're heading in the right direction and I'm happy to be a part of it."

The young Cumbrian said manager Eddie Howe was a big reason behind his decision to sign his new long-term deal.

White, who was included on the first-team bench for Newcastle this season before his League Two loan move, said: "As soon as he [Howe] joined, I was training with the first team every day which was one of the things that I wanted.

"From what I've seen in training and how much the team has improved in a short space of time, which you can see in the recent performances and results, it helped massively with my decision to stay.

"He's spoken to me personally a few times and mentioned that he already knew me before he came here.

"It's important for me to trust him and have a plan of what I'm going to do in the future and what he wants from me, where he sees me playing, and that gave me the reassurance that this is the right and best place to be."

White made his professional debut recently for Hartlepool in the FA Cup against Crystal Palace, and so far has ten first-team appearances under his belt for Carlisle's League Two rivals, his latest coming in Tuesday's 2-0 defeat to Bradford City.

"It's been massive," said White, who was formerly with Carlisle's academy. "It's totally different to under-23 or academy level. Even when I'm training at Newcastle, you get a taste of first-team action when you're on the bench and just want to be a part of it.

"It's much more competitive and it's a challenge. It's tough physically, playing three times a week, but I'm starting to get used to it and I'm hoping to get as many games as I can before the end of the season.

"There's a lot of seasoned pros in League Two and there's quite a few eye openers where there are certain traits which make you grow up a lot quicker rather than training with Premier League players. 

"The technical ability of players may not be near the level of the Premier League but there's different things that you gain experience from which, ultimately, turns you into a man."