Newcastle United goalkeeper coach Andy Woodman says youngster Jak Alnwick is ready to step up next season.

With Steve Harper leaving this summer, there is room for Alnwick to take the third-choice spot in Alan Pardew's keeper's pool.

"I think you can always look at your squad in any department and want to strengthen, but there comes a point when you've got to look at what you've got and promote within," Woodman told The Journal. "You've got to have belief in these young kids, that's the point of producing them.

"Jak Alnwick has been putting in performances week in, week out, and not just for the under-21s, but on the training pitch.

"He trains with the first team pretty much every day, and I always think a good gauge for how good these kids are is the respect they gain from the other professionals. When you've got people like (Fabricio) Coloccini and (Yohan) Cabaye who have respect for this young goalkeeper, that tells me we've got a boy who can progress into a top keeper.

"We've a very good goalkeeper coming through and the department as a whole is healthy, with Freddy (Woodman, his son) and Jonathan Mitchell coming through underneath."