Heading back north for another loan spell

“Fraser is the prime example of an English goalkeeper coming up here and then going into the national team,” said Woodman.

“I set my goals quite high and one day, hopefully, I can emulate what he has done.

“There are loads of goalkeepers who have come up here.

“Danny Ward was up here, Tim Krul and Kasper Schmeichel, so there have been a lot.

“It has been on my mind and it did make my decision a lot easier.

“I speak to Tim daily. He told me how great the league was when he was here and before I came up to Kilmarnock.

“He rang me the other day and is keeping an eye out. It is always good to have these sort of mentors to keep an eye out for me.”

Krul isn’t the only one. Scotland star Matt Ritchie and Dwight Gayle are among those at St James’ Park who have offered positive words on Woodman’s move to the Granite City.

Having England boss Gareth Southgate for a godfather can’t be a bad thing either.

Now Woodman, driven and plainspeaking, reckons Derek Mcinnes can become his latest big-name corner man.

“All throughout window I had teams wanting to get me, and it’s always nice to be in that position,” he said.

“But as soon as I spoke to the manager here, once he told about what he wanted and about my game, I was just like, ‘I want to sign’.

“When I spoke to him, he told me he’d noticed that I’d been improving in every game at Killie, which is always nice. He said that he wanted to help me improve my game even more.

“He spoke of the facilities here, how they help you off the pitch in terms of video, in the gym. It really helped me make my decision to come here.”

Today, in Charly Musonda, Woodman could face another Premier League youngster who opted to head to Scotland for game time.

Unsurprisingly, having been part of an England youth side that defeated a young Belgian team featuring Celtic’s Chelsea loanee, Aberdeen’s goalie is not fazed.

“He’s a very good player, very talented. I’ve played against him for Belgium and for Chelsea,” Woodman recalled.

“He’s got bags of skill. I’ve spoken to a lot of the Chelsea boys in the England set- up about him and they all say he’s such a good player.

“But, like I said earlier, it’s good to test yourself against these players. That’s what football’s about – testing yourself and finding your level.”

Time will tell where Woodman’s level lies. Today, the test is Celtic.

In Scotland, at least, it doesn’t get any tougher.