Winger banished by Newcastle United set for squad recall vs Southampton

The 30-year-old comes up against his former club for the first time since leaving last August. Both parties agreed to terminate his contract 12 months early, enabling the winger to re-join the Saints on a permanent basis after impressing on loan last season.

But to Fraser’s frustration, he has featured just nine times this campaign and was left out of the matchday squad completely for four consecutive games before being named on the bench for last weekend’s 3-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

He last played for Southampton in their 5-1 defeat at home to Chelsea on December 4.

"I think that Fraser is a really good player. He worked hard. He plays in the same position as Sulemana, like Armstrong. That's what penalised him," new manager Ivan Juric explained.

Fraser is yet to play any minutes since Juric succeeded Russell Martin last month but looks to be nearing a return with the Saints’ attacking options dwindling. In his pre-match press conference, Juric confirmed both Tyler Dibling and Kamaldeen Sulemana would miss the visit of Newcastle through injury, while the likes of Ben Brereton Diaz and Maxwel Cornet left the club on loan this week.

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The 26-capped Scotland international joined Newcastle as a free agent in 2020 from AFC Bournemouth and went on to make 59 appearances in total. His last came in October 2022 after falling out with head coach Eddie Howe.

For the remainder of the campaign, Fraser was banished to the under-21s before linking up with Southampton on loan in the following summer.

Reflecting on his fallout with Howe, Fraser said: "We have helped each other, It's, obviously, a little bit awkward now after what happened.

"We're probably not on the best of terms, but I don't regret anything we have done together. He was unbelievable with me. I did well for him. I learned as a player from him. It's sad how it ended but, at the same time, it's ended now and I'll always cherish the years that we had."