Newcastle United are willing to sell midfielder Isaac Hayden this summer as long as a suitable replacement can be signed, according to The Chronicle.
The newspaper claims that the 24-year-old is looking to move to the South West of England to be closer to his young daughter who requires medical treatment there.
Manager Rafael Benitez is open to selling the player, despite his status as one of the team’s standout stars this season, but only if he can adequately replace him.
The club would also require a decent fee for the former Arsenal man, obviously, particularly given his recent form.
OPINION
The Hayden situation is an unfortunate one for Newcastle, given how spectacularly he came on over the second half of the campaign. He is now very much an established Premier League midfielder, and a good one at that. Unfortunately, he wants to leave the club. The Englishman has nothing against the Magpies and it’s not a move he desires out of greed or even ambition, he simply wants to be closer to his family. We can all understand that, and you hope that the Newcastle decision-makers show a bit of humanity and allow him to depart. For them, though, they are running a business and they’ll want to get value for their asset and to make sure that they are not weakened by him leaving. So a replacement is key, and Benitez obviously knows that. Hayden’s been a big player for his team over the past few months so he’ll be aware of the challenge replacing him poses. Hopefully, though, Hayden gets his move away and the club find an even better player to come in for him.
