Newcastle United’s new owners showed during the January transfer window how keen they are on revitalising the squad at St James’ Park and strengthening where needed.
Looking ahead to the upcoming summer transfer window, it seems as though the Tyneside club could be set to say goodbye to at least one figure who was brought in during Mike Ashley’s tenure.
What’s the talk?
Speaking to Football FanCast, transfer insider Pete O’Rourke was discussing the future of Jeff Hendrick at Newcastle and what the upcoming summer transfer window could hold for him.
The journalist said: “Obviously, we saw Jeff Hendrick go out on loan in January, I’d expect him to leave on a permanent in the summer.”
Newcastle signed the midfielder in 2020 on a free transfer from fellow Premier League side Burnley. Since then, the 30-year-old made just 27 appearances for the Toon across all competitions before being loaned out to Championship side Queens Park Rangers in January, as O’Rourke mentioned.
Having made 22 appearances for Newcastle during the previous Premier League campaign, the Irishman earned a rather disappointing overall performance rating of 6.33/10 from WhoScored, making him the lowest-rated player to start more than four league games for the Magpies.
Also, having only made 18 combined tackles and interceptions, fewer than the majority of players in Newcastle’s squad at the time, it’s safe to say that the Irish midfielder didn’t offer much in terms of breaking up opposition attacks.
Taking this into account, it would be safe to assume that many supporters at St James’ Park would be happy to see the back of Hendrick if he were to leave for good this summer.
However, having only earned an uninspiring overall performance rating of 6.42/10 from nine Championship appearances with QPR since his arrival in west London, Newcastle may have a challenge on their hands finding a club to take him.
Either way, as long as the midfielder isn’t on the books at St James’ Park heading into next season, it’s hard to see too many Magpies supporters being bothered about where he ends up.
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