Whitworth has personality and character - Caldwell

Joe Whitworth has made two first-team appearances for Crystal Palace

Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell says goalkeeper Joe Whitworth has impressed him since joining the club on loan.

The 20-year-old has agreed a season-long move from Premier League side Crystal Palace and played for the first time in a 3-1 pre-season win over Yeovil Town.

The England youth player recovered from an error that led to Yeovil's goal to save a penalty at Huish Park.

"The biggest thing we look for is personality and character and Joe has that in abundance," Caldwell told BBC Radio Devon.

"I think we've seen that with the way he holds himself on the pitch.

"There was a mistake, it was a poor pass back to him and then he made the mistake, but we understand that everyone's going to make mistakes in this team, but the reaction and the personality that you show after it is the most important thing.

"The next time he got the ball he played out the same, they got a penalty, he saves it, I think it tells you everything you need to know about the character and the boy.

"We're delighted to bring him in, he's going to be a goalie with a big future and hopefully another one the fans can really connect with this season."

Whitworth's arrival came on the same day that central defender Will Aimson left the Grecians to join Wigan Athletic.

The 30-year-old was one of Caldwell's first signings as manager in January 2023 and played 61 times for Exeter, scoring five goals.

Caldwell says Aimson, who joined City from Bolton, had been keen to return to the north of England for some time.

"He's been wanting to do it since January and we got the price that was right and we were happy to let him go," Caldwell said.

"We will be prepared in that department come the start of the season.

"We still have three big weeks ahead to prepare the players to be ready for Rotherham and obviously for a 10-month season ahead.

"But to see how quickly the group has come together with the new players coming in and the levels that we can produce in a game and the detail we're giving within training compared to last year is up a few levels, so we're happy, but there's still a lot of hard work to do in the next three weeks."