An in-depth focus on our latest recruit, Jaiden White.
A Wolverhampton native, Jaiden White’s footballing journey began in his hometown having joined Wolverhampton Wanderers ahead of the club’s first season following the takeover of Chinese investment company Fosun, and such signalled much intent at Molineux, who went on to be promoted to the Premier League the following season.
As a result, White was a part of the youth system during the club’s success under Nuno Espírito Santo, spending two years with the Old Gold until the age of 14 before joining the Coventry City academy in 2019. A brief spell in the Sky Blues’ youth setup saw him continue to learn the fundamentals and he featured regularly for the side in the Premier League 2 and Development League matches, before departing the CBS Arena when the club opted against offering him a scholarship. Jaiden then decided to drop into non-league in an attempt to forge a career in football, moving 45 miles west to Worcestershire, with the young winger joining Kidderminster Harriers in 2019.
He subsequently worked his way up the ranks at Aggborough and eventually rose into the first team, before making his senior breakthrough towards the end of the year. After training with the first team throughout the season and appearing on the bench three times in a row, Jaiden made his debut for the club as a late substitute away at Spennymoor Town, appearing for the final minute of a 2-1 defeat at The Brewery Field when he became one of the youngest players to appear for the club at the age of 16 years and 282 days. This was then followed by further cameos in a 4-1 win over Chester and a 2-2 draw with Southport, before making his full debut on the final day of the season when he played 68 minutes in a 2-1 defeat to Guiseley, and he was subsequently rewarded for his rapid rise up the ranks with his first professional contract later in the year.
The 2019/20 season also saw him spend a trial period with Premier League club Fulham, making the journey to London to play for the Cottagers’ Under-18’s after a number of impressive performances for Harriers’ National League U19s Alliance team, as well as in the FA Youth Cup, where Harriers reached the First Round, facing Port Vale at Vale Park.
He was also selected by the England C team, and made it through the England Colleges Football Association (ECFA) trials to put himself in contention to be part of an 18-strong team competing in the international Roma Caput Mundi tournament in Rome, Italy.
This was then followed by a further four appearances during the 2019/20 season, before making the move further down non-league with a loan switch to Stafford Rangers, intending to gain experience of regular senior football. He subsequently benefited from a good amount of match action with 11 appearances – including eight starts in all competitions – before seeing his move extended until the end of January.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the season to a premature end, and the curtailing of the campaign brought an early return to Kidderminster after making a total of 14 appearance for Boro. Jaiden had certainly come out of his loan spell better off though, and went on to feature a further 27 times for Harriers, becoming a key part of the team during the 2021/22 season and even scoring his first goal for the club in a 3-0 win over Leamington.
While Jaiden had proven himself enough to play frequently at National League North level, the Worcestershire-based side opted to allow him to move on in June 2022, and meant he had a decision to make regarding his future. Looking to maintain regular opportunities, Jaiden decided to drop into Step 3 permanently in order to showcase his talent with a return to Stafford, and having become a firm fans’ favourite during his interim spell with Boro, proved to be an immense decision for the young winger.
A year at the Stan Robinson Stadium saw him rack up a further 19 appearances, including two goals in wins over Basford United and Sporting Khalsa, and preceded a move across the Midlands with a move to Stourbridge. Initially joining on a one-month loan in January 2023, he soon made made the move permanent on a deal until the end of the season and in total spent four months at the War Memorial Athletic Groundm notably won the Birmingham Senior Cup with the Glassboys, where he played a significant role in their cup run.
After scoring in the second round against AFC Wulfrunians, he contributed to further wins over Lye Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers, before helping the side edge past West Bromwich Albion in the semi-final, scoring four goals in total throughout the entire competitions. He then featured in the final against Coventry City – a 0-0 draw – before watching on as his teammates sealed a 4-2 penalty shootout victory at Villa Park.
A brief stint in Birmingham was then followed by a move back to Worcestershire with Redditch United confirming his arrival following a successful trial, in which he scored four goals in three games during pre-season. With proving to be limited though, he briefly departed the club midway through his Redditch tenure to join Ilkeston Town on dual registration, before rejoining the Reds at the start of the 2024/25 season where he had a strong start under Tim Flowers, notably winning Man of the Match after contributing to all three goals in a 3-0 win away at St. Ives Town, before earning a move higher up the pyramid.
Indeed, Jaiden’s talent was finally starting to receive attention, and a move away from the Midlands for the first time beckoned as he looked to further his career with a move to National League North side Hereford, with whom he had previously impressed during a trial at the start of the season. While manager Paul Caddis opted against bringing him to Edgar Street during the summer, he soon deemed him ready to make the jump up in November. Jaiden subsequently took to sixth tier football like a duck to water, scoring on his debut in a 3-0 win over Rushall and following it up with the winner against Scarborough two weeks later. In all, White ended his brief stint at Edgar Street with nine goals and four assists to his name, including a match-winning brace against Warrington Town to overturn a 2-1 deficit and defeat the Yellows 3-2, as well as three goals in as many games towards the backend of the season against Curzon Ashton, Farsley Celtic and Leamington, to secure a mid-table finish for the Bulls.
Having joined midway through the campaign, not many will have predicted what the future may have held for the 23-year old, but a supreme and consistent level of performances in the National League North told its own story, and he played his part in Hereford’s season with a host of dazzling performances.
White has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting prospects in all of non-league, describing himself as a skilful player that likes to shoot from outside the box, and he has completed his rise up non-league with a move to Step 1 for the first time.
