Even before the Christmas period, it was believed that Isaac Hayden would be returning to Newcastle United during the January transfer window.
The original news came from journalist Sacha Tavolieri, who stated the midfielder wasn’t enjoying life in Belgium, and wanted to return, having failed to settle and missing his young child.
Well, that has now all been backed up and seemingly confirmed by Standard Liège’s CEO, Pierre Locht, who explained to La Dernière Heure that Hayden would very likely head back to Newcastle.
He said: “It’s likely that he won’t come back, yes. We wanted a player who brought an immediate superior quality to the team. Isaac had a lot of experience in the Premier League. He’s a true number six, capable of settling the game, a stable element. But, in the image of the team, he had some good games but was then too inconsistent.”
Described as a ‘bitter failure’ of a transfer, the move for Hayden has seemingly come to an end, with the Englishman making just 11 appearances in all competitions for his temporary side.
The defensive midfielder is under contact at Newcastle until 2026, meaning Eddie Howe and those around him will now need to decide what they want to do with the 28-year-old, who clearly wasn’t in their plans before the season started.
