OPINION
Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden was a force to be reckoned with when he partnered Sean Longstaff earlier this season.
Now that his teammate has been ruled out with injury, the 24-year-old has continued with how he meant to go on, submitting assured and confident performances week after week, much to the relief of Rafa Benitez.
However, Hayden is likely to leave in the summer in order to be closer to his family – a stance he reinforced last Saturday, as quoted by the Chronicle [6/4, 1.34pm] – and many Newcastle fans will surely be gutted that this is the case – especially after his latest display in the 1-0 win against Leicester on Friday.
He battled time and time again, and really committed himself to the cause all evening. This outing has all but confirmed what a revelation the £22,000-a-week [Spotrac] player has been recently, and the fans will surely be sad to see him leave.
With Mo Diame’s contract situation also up in the air, Benitez needs to sign a midfielder in the summer. It would have been great to see Hayden and Longstaff pair up again next season, but the manager has now surely resigned to the fact that this will not become a reality.
Hayden had a mixed season up until recently, and it was clear that playing with Longstaff really brought the best out of him. Benitez now has just a few games left to make the most of Hayden’s contribution if he still has his heart set on a departure.
Without him, Newcastle’s midfield would have fallen to pieces, especially with Longstaff injured. Diame, Ki sung-yueng and Jonjo Shelvey would have seriously struggled to keep the team afloat in this area of the pitch, that is for sure.
To perform the way that he did against the Foxes knowing that he is lined up to leave in the summer is very admirable, and most of the fans will surely be gutted that he is set to exit after another inspiring display.
