Newcastle United’s retained list has been published ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Newcastle have confirmed that Jamal Lewis and Lloyd Kelly will be leaving the club on June 30 while talks are ongoing regarding new deals for John Ruddy and Callum Wilson.
The Magpies appear to be keeping their options open with Ruddy and Wilson as they actively search for new goalkeeper and striker additions. The retained list also confirmed that Mark Gillespie had activated a contract extension with his previous deal set to expire on June 30.
Wilson has been targeted by several clubs as a potential free agent signing this summer, with newly-promoted Leeds United understood to be keen on bringing the striker to Elland Road. But Newcastle’s latest announcement risks scuppering those plans as now Leeds will have to compete with Newcastle over a contract offer.
The rest of Newcastle’s squad are tied down for the upcoming season, which confirms several deals were agreed in secret without an official announcement by the club.
Newcastle United contracts agreed in private
Longstaff’s contract was set to expire on June 30 however it was widely reported that Newcastle had triggered a one-year extension to keep the midfielder at the club for another season. This was never officially confirmed by the club via a statement until it was revealed by Howe.
And the retained list shows that Longstaff is indeed contracted for next season though his future remains up in the air amid interest from the likes of Leeds United and Everton.
There was a similar situation with Jamaal Lascelles as it was believed the defender’s contract was due to expire at the end of the season. Though, as reported by The Gazette, an extension was agreed with the Newcastle defender despite not being officially announced by the club.
The last contract announcement from the club regarding Kieran Trippier states that the defender’s deal would expire on June 30, 2025. But the right-back agreed an extension last year that runs until June 2026 which has now been confirmed.
The retained list has also cleared up uncertainty regarding Martin Dubravka’s contract. Newcastle announced that the goalkeeper had agreed a new contract following transfer interest from Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabia but did not specify the length.
The Gazette reported that the goalkeeper had indeed signed an extension until June 2026 though this was not revealed by the club prior to the publishing of the retained list.
Newcastle United players out of contract in 2026
Now Newcastle’s retained list has been somewhat cleared up, attention now turns to the players entering the final years of their contracts at St James’ Park.
Longstaff, Lascelles, Trippier and Dubravka are four of those players. Fabian Schar, Matt Targett, Emil Krafth, Nick Pope, Mark Gillespie and Isaac Hayden are other players also understood to be out of contract next summer.
Fortunately, Newcastle’s top players are all tied down to longer-term deals as things stand though the club are understood to be looking to open talks with top scorer Alexander Isak, whose contract expires in 2028.
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