Newcastle United man set to leave after Australia snub - 11 players missing in total

While Newcastle United are still weighing up possible new contracts for Paul Dummett and Matt Ritchie, it seems one player’s future has already been decided.

Following Sunday’s final day Premier League victory at Brentford, a win that secured a top seven finish, Eddie Howe’s men jumped on a plane to Australia to participate in Melbourne’s ‘'Global Football Week’.

Howe has named a 29-man squad for matches against Tottenham Hotspur and the A-League All Stars this week, made up of senior players and youngsters, while Harrison Ashby and Garang Kuol have returned from their respective loan spells to be involved.

Despite facing uncertain futures, Dummett and Ritchie - both out-of-contract at the end of next month - have made the trip Down Under. Howe hasn’t ruled out the prospect of offering new deals to the long-serving pair, but a player who is set to leave without a trace is Loris Karius.

The former Liverpool goalkeeper has been a regular in the matchday squad this term, offering support to Martin Dubravka whilst Nick Pope recovered from surgery on a dislocated shoulder. However since Pope’s returned at the beginning of May, Karius hasn’t been spotted in the four squads since.

The 30-year-old has made just two appearances for Newcastle since arriving as a free agent in September 2022. He played the Carabao Cup final loss to Manchester United before appearing in a Premier League match away to Arsenal in February.

He is out-of-contract this summer and has already revealed his aim is to sign for a club in Italy, where his partner Diletta Leotta and daughter are based.

Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport in March, Karius said: “I want to play more. I would like to sign for an Italian club and I have chosen the agency of Claudio Marchisio to represent me.”

Meanwhile, Diletta recently described Newcastle as “very inconvenient”.

She said: "Loris has people by his side who are working for him. I hope he makes the best choice for his career. I live in Milan and so let's say that close to Milan in terms of comfort would be ideal for us.

“Monza or any other team in Italy. I would be happy if he could come and play in Italy and be close to his family. Newcastle is very inconvenient because there are no direct flights. Neither about Paris nor about Amsterdam."

Although Karius’ omission from the Australia squad is expected to spell the end of his time on Tyneside, that won’t be the same for others. Indeed, 10 senior players have been left at home - and here’s why: