Aston Villa were strongly linked with having an interest in Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden in both the summer and January transfer windows, as he seemed to appear on both Steve Bruce and Dean Smith’s radars.
The 24-year-old has long intended on leaving St James’ Park so he could move closer to his family and his daughter and it has been well publicised that Newcastle are on board with that, but manager Rafa Benitez wanted to secure a replacement first, before sanctioning his departure.
Nothing has changed and the former Arsenal midfielder has been back in the press this week discussing his future, and stating that as far as he’s concerned following talks with the club, he doesn’t expect to be with them when the 2019/20 campaign kicks off in August.
Quoted by the Sun on Tuesday, Hayden stated that in his mind he had now played his last game for the club on home soil, given they are away on the final day.
“I think I will be going. I have spoken to the club about it and they’ve been open and honest with me. In football you never know, so I can’t say for definite. But I’m sure last Saturday against Liverpool was my last game at home. Hopefully, something can be done and the club have been quite proactive with that, so I don’t think there will be a problem. It’s unfortunate but the club know my stance and have known it for a year. It’s about getting the deal right for the club and me.”
Whether Smith does have an interest in the player will soon become clear, but we can certainly expect regular rumour mill rumblings in his direction again.
