Former Newcastle United favourite’s brutal exit ‘confirmed’ in just nine words

The former Newcastle United defender is searching for a new club - just three months after leaving England.
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Former Newcastle United defender Federico Fernandez’s departure from La Liga side Elche CF has been all-but confirmed.

The Argentine defender only recently signed a one-year contract in Spain after joining from the Magpies on summer transfer deadline day three months ago.

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Fernandez was a popular figure behind the scenes on Tyneside but was allowed to leave after injuries restricted him to just two outings under Eddie Howe, who was appointed head coach in November 2021.

A move to Elche represented a fresh start for the 33-year-old, however, similar fitness issues have restricted Fernandez to one appearance. It was reported at the beginning of December that the Spanish club were negotiating an early termination.

Although there has been no official announcement from Elche, head coach Pablo Machin appeared to give the game away when addressing the situation in a recent press conference.

He said: “You know there have been a couple of casualties.” Machin is understood to be making reference to Fernandez and fellow countryman Javier Pastore.

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Elche are rock bottom of La Liga and are without a win in 14 matches.

Fernandez made 89 appearances for Newcastle after arriving from Swansea City in 2018. Despite the limited game time during the centre-half’s final season, Howe held the veteran in very high regard.

“Fede, what an incredible professional, great guy. I can’t speak highly enough of him and his contribution to the football club over many years,” Howe said.

“Unfortunately for us, he picked up a couple of injuries, so we didn’t get to see a lot of him on the pitch, but, behind the scenes, he’s been incredible for us and he goes with our best wishes.”

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