Colchester United manager John McGreal has claimed that Newcastle United midfielder Cal Roberts has been told he won’t be getting a new contract with the Magpies.
The 21-year-old was one of a trio of young players recalled from loan spells by Newcastle this week, and McGreal claims that Roberts’ future on Tyneside has already been decided, with the youngster out of contract at the end of the season.
“Cal was told the other week by Newcastle that he wasn’t getting a contract,” he told the Daily Gazette. “His head went a little bit to be fair because I think he was thinking that there was a possibility of him getting a contract there.
“He’s been there all his career and played for them this year. It’s been tough for Cal and he’s been away from home. He’s still got a bit of a sore ankle and he wants to get that right and I think Newcastle pulled him back to get him some training and get him into the under-23s and put a little bit into the shop window. We know he’ll be out of contract and Newcastle have told him,” he finished.
OPINION
This is a real blow for Roberts who, as McGreal says, has been at Newcastle his whole career. He’s from the region and has only ever spent loan spells away from the club so the news that he’s going to be let go will surely have devastated him. He’s always been highly regarded within the club’s academy and has made a big impression at every youth level, so if this is true then it’s a bit of a surprise. Perhaps the club doesn’t feel he has shown enough in his loan spells to suggest he could cut it at the top level for Newcastle, and they’d probably be correct in that assessment in all honesty. However, we’ve seen what Sean Longstaff has done after making the step up this season so it’s not inconceivable that Roberts could do something similar if given the chance. However, it appears that he won’t be given that opportunity and will instead be on the lookout for a new club this summer.
