Newcastle United will allow Rob Elliot, Javier Manchillo and Ki Sung-yueng to leave St James’ Park on free transfers when their contracts expire at the end of the season, according to the Daily Star.
The newspaper claims that talks are underway to secure new deals for Fabian Schar, Isaac Hayden, Matt Ritchie and Jonjo Shelvey, but the club has opted against offering new terms to goalkeeper Elliot, defender Manquillo and midfielder Ki.
Elliot, 33, is the longest-serving player at St James’ Park having joined the Magpies in 2011.
Manquillo, 25, has not featured in any of Steve Bruce’s last four matchday squads in the Premier League while Ki, 30, has started just once in the league this season.
OPINION
It is not a surprise to see that Newcastle are willing to let these three players leave. Elliot is down the pecking order at the moment with Martin Dubravka and Karl Darlow ahead of him while Freddie Woodman has been in impressive form on loan at Swansea this season and will return to Tyneside next year. Manquillo also has a lot of competition at right-back with DeAndre Yedlin and Emil Krafth blocking his opportunities in the Premier League. As for Ki, the South Korea international’s career at Newcastle has never really taken off. He seemed as though he was a decent free transfer when Rafa Benitez picked him up last summer but since then, the midfielder has played just 22 times across all competitions. The emergence of the Longstaff brothers has not helped Ki’s case and getting rid of all three of these players is bound to be an acceptable decision by the club’s supporters.
