Newcastle United has six players whose contracts are up this summer.
Prior to the January transfer window, midfielder Jonjo Shelvey was the headline name on Newcastle United’s 2023 out-of-contract contingent.
The 30-year-old, who has spent the majority of the Magpies 2022/23 campaign sidelined, has joined Nottingham Forest which saw him follow in the footsteps of Newcastle forward Chris Wood, who signed for Steve Cooper’s side on loan earlier this month.
Shelvey, who only needed to play two more games for Newcastle to trigger a contract extension will now end his seven-year spell on Tyneside, leaving the Magpies slightly short in central midfield.
READ MORE: How much Anthony Gordon’s deal is worth and where it ranks in Newcastle’s record signings?
Of course, even if he had his contract extended, there was every chance the Magpies could have looked to move Shelvey on in the summer, much like they will probably do with the other six players who are out of contract come to the end of the season.
Matt Ritchie, Ciaran Clark, Paul Dummett, Mark Gillespie, Matty Longstaff, and Loris Karius are all set to be out of contract in the summer.
While Clark is on loan at Sheffield United, only Ritchie has appeared more than once for Newcastle this season among the out-of-contract players.
The 33-year-old, who joined the Magpies in 2016, has appeared in two cup competitions this season as well as coming off the bench twice in the Premier League.
Paul Dummett, who has over 200 appearances for his boyhood club, has only appeared once for Newcastle this season, while neither Mark Gillespie nor Loris Karius has played in goal.
Karius recently had his short-term contract extended until the end of the season, which led to the loan departure of Karl Darlow to Hull City
Then there’s also the future of Matty Longstaff which has been up in the air for the past few years. After breaking through into the Magpies first team squad back in 2019 under Steve Bruce, the 22-year-old midfielder’s career has stalled. His last appearance for Newcastle came back in January 2021 under Bruce in a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal.
Longstaff is currently undergoing rehab too after rupturing his ACL, which cut his most recent loan spell at Colchester United short. While Newcastle could look to extend his deal by a season, it is also entirely possible they will end up releasing a player who they once had high hopes for.
Leave a Reply