Some great news emerging on Friday lunchtime, with the club announcing that Isaac Hayden and Karl Darlow have signed new long-term deals at the club, the duo tied down until 2026 and 2025 respectively.
Both players will be crucial for the upcoming season, as Darlow is expected to start the campaign between the sticks with Martin Dubravka sidelined.
They may not be the last to commit either, with Sky Sports’ Keith Downie revealing that Dwight Gayle – who is out of contract in 2021 – ‘could be next’ to sign following the double-deal:
Hayden is the big one for me, however. He’s become a fans favourite for his unsung performances in the middle of the park and has cemented himself as a first-team starter since his arrival in 2016.
His contract extension shatters any doubt around his commitment to the club – with it being widely reported in the past that he has wished for a move back down South, citing personal reasons.
Here’s what Hayden has had to say since putting pen to paper today:
“I’m delighted. It shows a lot of loyalty and commitment from both sides.
“It’s great to have agreed this before the start of the season and we can focus on getting the football right and getting as high up the Premier League table as we can.”
A whole host of first team player’s contracts are still set to expire at the end of the season (Carroll, Fernandez, Schar, Clark, Yedlin, Atsu and Murphy to name a few!), so it is a good sign that we are looking to act quickly to avoid another potential Matty Longstaff situation.
Another bit of brilliant news in what has been a fantastic week for Newcastle United so far.
Let’s hope we can cap it all off with a win at West Ham tomorrow!
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Click Bait
“Striker set to sign”, this is not a good way to conduct yourselves, i will think twice before clicking on your articles again
Dwight Gayle robbing the club for a few extra years is not something to use as a potential new signing.
Peter McCarthy(Quote)
Agree with Peter McCarthy. Also which fans have Hayden as a favourite? – the slowest most negative player I can remember seeing – perfect for the Benitez days of football torture!
Gordon Murray(Quote)
Probably the most over sensationalised head line ever.
Dwight Gayle’s new contract is not a new striker.
cocobear(Quote)
Hayden wanted out for two seasons … must be comfortable with relegation looming with Bruce … both hard to get rid off on big money
Mike(Quote)
Have to agree with the click bait comments.
You’ll get people to read once or twice maybe, but after that you end up losing them.
Never rated Hayden and we should not be talking about Gayle staying on, we should be talking about replacing him with a prem quality striker.
BykerBill(Quote)
Why are we still dishing out 5 , even 6 year contracts ?? This way, in our case, you end up giving a fortune to flops like Lazaar and Saivet. Other clubs are just as culpable e.g. Ozil , Sanchez, Bale. Madness.
Laurencef(Quote)
Take your comments on board folks.
I’ve been away today and the headline initially put out for this was misleading, so I’ve just edited it now.
I agree it was poor, however I’d also defend the site and say this is a one off. An element of click-bait is needed, sadly – people don’t read and the site doesn’t survive if you give everything away in the title – but our articles are never usually misleading.
Olly Hawkins(Quote)
Sick note gayle should never get an extension,get a young hungry striker in
David(Quote)