Newcastle United activate midfielder clause - confirmed in 32-word club statement

Isaac Hayden is set to join an English club for the second half of the 2022-23 season after being recalled from his loan spell at Standard Liege.

The 28-year-old joined the Belgian outfit in September after moves to Luton Town and Sheffield Wednesday fell through during the final week of the summer transfer window.

Hayden went on to make 11 appearances in Belgium but has missed four of the last five matches. A 32-word club statement by Liege on Thursday afternoon confirmed his exit.

It read: "The English club have activated the recall clause in Isaac Hayden's loan contract. This means he will return to Newcastle. Standard de Liege wishes Isaac the best in his further professional career."

It comes just days after Liege CEO Pierre Locht labelled Hayden's short spell as "inconsistent". Locht told Belgian outlet La Derniere Heure (as relayed by Sport Witness): "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.”

It's understood the former Arsenal midfielder will join a Championship club after attracting interest from Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday, Preston North End and Plymouth Argyle, as per the Daily Telegraph.

After returning from last season's loan spell at Norwich City, Hayden trained away from Eddie Howe’s first-team over the summer before moving to Belgium.

Newcastle are considering signing a midfielder in January after losing Sandro Tonali until 2024. Hayden, however, won't be handed a second chance on Tyneside, despite being under contract until 2026.

Hayden was signed by Rafa Benitez in 2016 and in his first season helped Newcastle win the Championship title. He's has made 171 appearances for United, though last featured in December 2021 after being left out of the 25-man squad for the second half of the 21-22 campaign.