Freddie Woodman has become the second of Newcastle United's young stars to go out on loan as he has joined Crawley Town until just after the New Year. Woodman had shown glimpses of his potential during Newcastle's preseason tour of the USA where he exhibited his considerable skill as a shot-stopper. The tour did exhibit that there are some rough edges to polish up before the England youth international is ready for the big time. More than once he was unable to keep a handle on the ball which led to opposition chances and saw the ball in the net at one point only to be saved by the ref's whistle. There is no doubt, however, that his trajectory is firmly on the up and this move looks like a good one for him.
Crawley Town were relegated from League One last year on the last day of the season. On the heels of that relegation, they released the one senior squad goalkeeper that they had on the roster, so there is a vacuum at the back for the Red Devils. The club's website has suggested that Freddie will be placed straight into the starting lineup for their friendly today against Nuneaton Town. In addition to Woodman, Crawley have added another young goalkeeper in Wales U19 capped Callum Preston. Preston was not retained by Birmingham City as his contract with the club expired. He will provide the primary competition to Freddie, but it would be considered a disappointment if Woodman were to lose that competition.