Isaac Hayden will be allowed to leave St James’ Park this summer.
Hayden hasn’t made a competitive appearance for Newcastle United since December 2021 and will be allowed to leave the club this summer. The former Arsenal man still has twelve months left on his contract on Tyneside but has no future at the club and is available for clubs to sign on a permanent basis.
Hayden spent the second half of last season on-loan at Portsmouth, helping John Mousinho’s side avoid relegation following their promotion from League 1. Whilst at Fratton Park, Hayden made 17 appearances and played in all six of Pompey’s final six Championship games as they secured survival with games to spare.
Having also spent time on loan at Norwich City and QPR in the Championship during previous seasons, it seems as though the second-tier could be Hayden’s ultimate destination. Wherever he ends up moving, though, Hayden will want to ensure he plays regular minutes to keep himself in Steve McClaren’s plans for the Jamaica national team.
Hayden made his debut for Jamaica last year and has been capped seven times. With a World Cup summer coming next year, Hayden has a chance to represent the Reggae Boyz in that tournament and was warned by the former Newcastle United boss before the January transfer window that he needs regular game time again: “[Isaac] realises that he’s in the reserves at Newcastle,” McClaren said.
“He needs a club in January. This is as much about the March [international] window, the summer window, and the next World Cup window as it is this window.
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“Every player needs a cause. Every player needs motivation, and his motivation is to get back playing at the level he was three or four years ago. To be able to commit to Jamaica and, hopefully, to another club in January will only make him better.”
Isaac Hayden’s Portsmouth transfer admission
Hayden did receive that game time when he moved to the south coast and whilst he enjoyed a successful spell with Portsmouth, he revealed at the end of last season that returning to Fratton Park on a permanent basis was not a likely outcome: “When I came to the club initially it was a ‘you help me and I’ll help you situation’. I don’t think there’s anything more than that,” the former Arsenal and Hull City man said.
“I think financially it’s a little bit of a difficult conversation and also when I spoke to people at the end of January when I signed, the situation was the club want to go in a younger direction. I don’t think they want to go with players who are my age and above.
“So it’s one of those where they gave me the games and the platform to play, I’ve played, done well and we’ve stayed up - everyone’s a winner. I knew already for a while it was going to be a situation like that, and they were the circumstances I was coming here under.
“I’m now go into a situation off the back of some games, some good games, and I can now go into the summer and international football in a good space.”
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