Exeter City is very close to acquiring Crystal Palace’s custodian, Joe Whitworth, from the Premier League.

As they attempt to prepare for another season in the third division, Alan Nixon reports that the League One side is closing in on a deal to sign the 20-year-old on a season-long loan contract.

Whitworth attended the AFC Wimbledon academy before relocating to Palace in 2016. There, he progressed through the ranks of the team before making his Premier League debut in 2023 against Brighton & Hove Albion. He achieved this by breaking the club record for the youngest goalie to be fielded in a Premier League match.

The man from Sutton has also played for the England youth team, moving up from the Under 15s to the Under 18s in 2022.

A solid move for Exeter City?

Since Whitworth is still a young player with limited experience, the Premier League team will be eager to see him play senior football in order to give him more muscle.

The club will require competition for Shaun MacDonald, who served as a backup to Aston Villa loanee Viljami Sinisalo last season, since Gary Woods was released at the end of the season and Harry Lee went on loan in the National League South.

It’s unclear if Whitworth is prepared for consistent first-team play; the transition from academy football can be difficult, particularly in a cutthroat league like League One. He does, however, require that setting at the age of twenty to show Palace that he is capable.

A keeper has the power to make or break a season; make the wrong pick and it may affect how your defence plays; make the correct call, though, and Exeter may have found a hidden gem who is just waiting to show his abilities.

A new unit has been formed by Devon and Cornwall Police to combat drug use, antisocial behaviour, and increases in crime in the south of the county.
The area’s top police officer, Chief Inspector Miranda Pusey, announced that five beat managers and a sergeant would “cooperate to address the issues that pose the greatest risk to our communities.”
You can reach the Neighbourhood Support Team (NST) via phone at (101), as well as through the force’s social media accounts.
The establishment of three further NSTs—one each in Exeter, Plymouth, and Cornwall—comes after the launch in south Devon.

“Ask the operators to make sure that message gets sent down to the local neighbourhood teams, and the Neighbourhood Support Team are part of those neighbourhood teams,” added Detective Pusey.
“We will always respond to people in appropriate timescale if they do contact us.”They are well ingrained in the neighbourhood since they are neighbourhood officers. “They have brilliant problem solving skills and really good intelligence gathering skills,” the statement reads.
She continued: “We’ve been listening to our communities about what’s affecting them.”We are able to address both long-term and short-term issues in such locations since the Neighbourhood Support Team is a component of the larger neighbourhood team.
“I think they are going to be an absolutely huge success.”

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In Boston, Aidan Heslop, a diver from Plymouth, won the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.
The 22-year-old Heslop, who began the season with a depressing sixth place in Greece, got back to winning ways where he had celebrated his maiden world series triumph two years prior.
Heslop, the two-time overall runner-up in the series, stated, “I came here and had a bit more fun. I went into Athens with a bit too much pressure on myself.”
“That what seems to put me in the right mindset to do these good dives, so that’s how I’m going to stay for the rest of the season.”

Plymouth native Aidan Heslop won the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in Boston.
The 22-year-old Heslop returned to winning ways where he had celebrated his first world series victory two years earlier after starting the season in a gloomy sixth place in Greece.
The two-time series runner-up overall, Heslop, said, “I came here and had a little bit more fun. I put a little too much pressure on myself when I arrived in Athens.”
“That what seems to put me in the right mindset to do these good dives, so that’s how I’m going to stay for the rest of the season.”

Reporter Pete O’Rourke on X claims that Championship and League One teams are keeping an eye on Exeter City defender Zak Jules.
As they get ready for another season in League One under Gary Caldwell, Exeter City is set to lose the centre back this summer. They were ultimately 15 points outside of the playoffs after finishing in 13th place in the previous campaign.

Jules, 27, has a contract that expires at the end of the following month, and since he hasn’t signed a new agreement, he will become a free agent. He’ll be considering what to do in the game.

According to journalist O’Rourke’s most recent update on his future on X, he is expected to turn down the Grecians’ offer of fresh terms and go for nothing, despite interest from the league above and from a few other unidentified third-tier teams.

Exeter City would be devastated if Jules left to join a team in the same league.

He was a crucial member of their core defence since they signed him last year.

In 47 games in all competitions, he has contributed three goals from the back.
The former Scotland youth international has thus far in his career played for a variety of clubs.

Jules came through the Reading academy’s ranks, however he was never a member of the first team. As a young player, he spent loan periods with Hemel Hempstead Town, Braintree Town, and Motherwell in order to gain some experience.

Following his permanent departure from the Royals in 2017, he has played for Shrewsbury Town, Port Vale, Barnet, Macclesfield Town, Walsall, MK Dons, and Fleetwood Town.

Jules is unlikely to be accepted into any team at that level because he has never played in the second division. But his prospects of getting regular game time would be higher if he stayed in League One.

If he is to leave, Exeter City will have to find a suitable replacement.

The Grecians announced the release of players including Alex Hartridge, Gary Woods, Harry Kite, Kyle Taylor, Joe O’Connor, and James Scott earlier this month when they issued their retained list.