Aston Villa have joined West Bromwich Albion in the race to sign Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden, according to the Daily Mirror.
The newspaper’s live transfer blog (Tuesday January 8th, 17:50) shared that the Championship duos are pursuing the 23-year-old’s services after he admitted he wanted to exit the Magpies last summer for family reasons.
The Daily Mirror report that the Magpies have already rejected an attempt by WBA to take Hayden on loan this month and that Rafa Benitez has made it clear he rates the midfielder so wants to keep him at the club.
OPINION
Aston Villa and West Brom would both benefit from having Hayden in their team as you feel he could do a job in England’s second tier. However given Benitez’s stance, it seems both are going to have to find another midfielder to sign this month as the Spanish manager clearly isn’t going to approve of his departure. This is the case even though Hayden clearly still wants a move as he shared with Sky Sports that he was still hoping a solution could be found in order for him to leave St James Park. Aston Villa and WBA probably could get Hayden on board with joining them but as long as Benitez’s stance remains the same, the wantaway midfielder is clearly staying put. The 23-year-old has been featuring for the Magpies as of late but he has looked out of his depth in the Premier League. The midfield enforcer has featured nine times across all competitions and aside from display against Watford recently, he has looked like a player who Benitez should be eager to kick out the door.
