Newcastle United youngster Josef Yarney is looking forward to learning from captain Jamaal Lascelles as he begins his second season at St. James’ Park.

The 20-year-old, who joined United in the summer of 2017, has been training with the first team this week, and is in line to be part of the Magpies squad which will head out to Ireland for a training camp on Wednesday.

And centre back Yarney – a regular for Newcastle’s under-23 side last term – says he’s relishing the prospect of training alongside the skipper, and is determined to take his chance to impress manager Rafa Benítez.

“For a young lad like me going up there, it’s not just training, it’s a chance to impress and a chance to get better, being around all the lads and top quality players,” Yarney told nufc.co.uk.

“The tempo is higher, the professionalism is higher, and everyone is doing the right things at the right time. That can bring me on leaps and bounds as a player.

“Being around Jamaal and players like that – for me as a centre back, it’s great to be around people like that.

“I was watching the way he’s been with the lads and the staff, and the way he plays, the way he leads the team, and also a lot of the other lads too.

“You see where he’s come in a short space of time, and he's getting linked with coming into the England squad now, so it’s a good motivation.”

The former Everton defender enjoyed 30 outings for United’s second string last term, netting twice.

And having established himself in the side during the second half of last season, Yarney wants to continue to progress as he looks to bridge the gap to the first team squad.

“I thought it was a very positive season considering I didn’t play many games the season before when I was at Everton, so it was nice to get a lot of games,” he said. “I think at the end of the season we played something like eight games in 21 days, but I enjoyed that.

“Last season was my first season at the club – I was coming in and I was new. I’ve been here for a year now, and everyone knows what I’m capable of and what I can do, and where I can be. I just wanted to come here and show what I could do, and put a positive thought in people’s minds about me."

Ahead of the trip to Ireland, he added: “I think it’s always a big chance when you go with the first team and you’re going to be around the manager and the staff. You can always make a good impression on people.

“Hopefully I can go up there and impress, and then you never know. I’ll go from there and see where I’m at at the end of pre-season.”