Photo: Howe calls up 19-year-old with ‘real leadership qualities’ to Newcastle training ahead of West Ham

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Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has been putting his players through their paces in training ahead of their Premier League clash on Saturday.

The Magpies will kick off the day’s action when they head to West Ham for a 12:30pm kickoff.

Newcastle are in great form at present, having won their last three league games to go four points clear of the bottom three.

The Magpies will be taking on a team that has stuttered somewhat in recent weeks.

West Ham have won one, drawn one and lost two of their last four games in the league.

The Hammers left it late to salvage a draw against Leicester last time out, Craig Dawson netting in injury time.

On Wednesday, the Newcastle media team published photos of the Magpies players in training.

Among them was Newcastle academy defender Charlie Wiggett.

The 19-year-old joined the Magpies setup in July last year after leaving Chelsea on a free transfer.

Wiggett was a regular for Chelsea’s Under-18s last term and captained the team at several age groups.

The centre-back penned a professional contract with the London club in 2019, but joined Newcastle after his contract expired.

Wiggett netted his first goal for United’s second-string in his second appearance, a 4-0 win at Birmingham City.

To date, he has made 17 appearances for Newcastle’s Under-21s/23s, and has four goals from 14 Premier League 2 appearances.

“In Charlie, we see real leadership qualities,” Steve Harper told the Newcastle website when Wiggett joined the club last summer.