An adorable Newcastle United fan has set his sights on raising enough money to "buy" Joelinton for the children's football team he plays for.
James Walton, six, is "obsessed" with Joelinton and even sits with a signed photograph of the Newcastle midfielder while he watches the Magpies play on television. James recently started playing football for the Throckley Magpies and believes he will be able to bring Joelinton along for a game with his pals - once he fills his money box.
Mum Jayde Wilson, 31, said: "James is obsessed with Joelinton. For his birthday in December, we got him a signed photo of Joelinton and he sits with it on the settee when he watches the Newcastle games because he thinks that Joelinton can see through the TV and see how much he loves him.
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"He's even started writing Joelinton little messages saying, 'I love you,' 'I think you're the best footballer' - it's so sweet."
She continued: "When we were clearing out his room he asked me how teams get footballers. I said they had to buy them and he said, 'I want to buy him for my team.'
"He's started playing for a team called Throckley Magpies and said he is going to get Joelinton to play for them.
"He asked if he could sell his toys rather than donating them so he can put some money in his jar to save up for Joelinton. I just thought it was the sweetest thing."
The devoted mum-of-three put a post on Facebook saying it was too cold for James to be sitting outside selling his toys but asked if anyone could take some and put a couple of pounds in his jar. And Jayde said she was overwhelmed by the response as kind-hearted Geordies were quick to show their support by making a donation.
"Everyone said, 'this is so sweet, I'll come around and buy some of his toys,'" she said.
"One woman bought all of his superheroes and gave him £25. He was buzzing."
Jayde said she was "proud" of her son's determination and hoped sharing the Throckley Primary School pupil's story might catch Joelinton's attention. Jayde, from Throckley, said that she thinks James might like to buy his first pair of football boots with the money he has raised from the collection.
"He just thinks that when his jar is full he can go and give it to Joelinton and ask for five minutes of his time to play football because he wants to show him some of his tricks," she said.
"I don't want to kill his dreams straight away when he is so determined. He is got this little fire in his belly.
"He is so happy and said his jar is nearly full. He asked me the other day whether he might have £1 left to buy some skittles for him and Joelinton to share."
"I don't want to dampen [his dreams] if that's his wish I want to try and help him as much as I can."
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