Newcastle United midfielder pictured in Middle East ahead of summer transfer exit

The 29-year-old hasn’t featured for the Magpies since December 2021 having been frozen out by head coach Eddie Howe. He spent the 2022-23 campaign on loan at Norwich City before spells at Standard Liege and Queens Park Rangers last season.

The majority of Howe’s first-team squad will return for pre-season within the next fortnight but Hayden, similar to last year, will train away from the club’s Benton training ground whilst a move to another club is finalised.

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Newcastle could agree a mutual termination of the player’s contract, which doesn’t expire until 2026, waive any potential transfer fee or indeed sanction another loan. QPR are interested in re-signing him but the terms must be right.

In the meantime, the former Arsenal man is keen to show his off-season dedication after visiting Aspetar, an orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital in Doha, Qatar.

There are two other players in a similar situation to Hayden with Ryan Fraser and Jamal Lewis told they have no future on Tyneside.

Fraser has agreed to re-join Southampton after helping them win promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt while Lewis is on the lookout for a new club after Watford passed up the option to sign the left-back permanently.

Both players are into the final year of their contracts having both signed in 2020.

Newcastle released Jeff Hendrick on Monday after he spent the remaining two-and-a-half-years on his contract at Queens Park Rangers, Reading and Sheffield Wednesday. Long-serving duo Mat Ritchie and Paul Dummett have also been let go.