Buoyant Donaldson relishing Celtic clash | OneFootball

United's second-string face their Bhoys counterparts at the Magpies' Little Benton Academy in a behind-closed-doors encounter and head into the friendly fixture following a 3-2 win against St Mirren on Tuesday, with Donaldson, Alfie Harrison and Trevan Sanusi all on target at the SMiISA Stadium.

Newcastle's youngsters exited the Premier League 2 play-offs at the Round of 16 stage last month following a 2-1 defeat away at Arsenal but Donaldson, who hails from Gateshead, is still aiming to make the most of the final month of the 2024/25 campaign.

The teenage striker, who joined United's youth set-up in 2019, told newcastleunited.com: "It was a good game to play after the competitive matches have finished. It's good of Diarmuid (O'Carroll) and the club to sort us a couple of friendlies, especially against good sides. It was a positive win and performance.

"It's always good to test yourself and see what levels you can reach so to get the result we wanted was a good experience all-round. To score a goal and get my name out there was a good thing to do.

"It's great the club has organised these games so we're not just training for the rest of the season. It's good to keep our match fitness and play new teams from different areas. It should be a really enjoyable game against Celtic."

After a gutting exit from the Premier League 2 play-offs, conceding a stoppage-time penalty, Donaldson still believes the squad can take plenty of positives from the tie against Arsenal as well the entirety of the 2024/25 season following a ninth-placed finish in the 26-team division.

Donaldson, who signed his first professional contract with his boyhood club last summer, said: "We headed into the play-offs really positively, with a few good results, and we had lots of confidence that we could win the game. The performance on the night was very good and I don't think we deserved to lose, especially with conceding two penalties which were questionable.

"It was devastating to get knocked out but it's still been a successful season both individually and as a team. Diarmuid came in a couple of months later and has done a really good job.

"Of course, we wanted to go further in the play-offs but we didn't qualify last season so it's been a good improvement this year and, hopefully, the lads can kick on next season."

Please note supporters will be unable to attend Newcastle United Under-21s' friendly clash against Celtic B on Tuesday, 13th May.