Isaac Hayden will “continue giving 110 per cent” to Newcastle United if he doesn’t get a deadline-day move to Aston Villa, according to a Sky Sports journalist.
Magpies expert Pete Graves reported on his personal Twitter account on Thursday morning that the club’s move for Benfica midfielder Andreas Samaris is close to collapse but “not dead yet”.
He explained that the performances of midfield pair Hayden and Sean Longstaff of late has made signing the Portugal-based player less of a priority.
Samaris was the deal that #nufc were struggling with the most. Not dead yet, but performances of Hayden and Longstaff recently have made pursuit of the Greek midfielder less of a priority. Sources close to Hayden say he'll continue giving 110% to @nufc if he stays. #avfc
— Pete Graves (@PeteGravesTV) January 31, 2019
OPINION
The ironic thing is that Hayden may have put paid to the possibility of a late-window exit himself with his performances in Newcastle’s last two league matches against Manchester City and Cardiff City, both of which they won. The midfielder has given a strong account of himself of late, after emerging from the fringes to play six consecutive league matches. His energy and mobility in central midfield alongside Longstaff and Christian Atsu in a 5-3-2 formation against the champions on Tuesday was especially impressive, and demonstrated how Hayden is capable of cutting it at Premier League level. Villa have been keen to take advantage of his desire to head south of the border for personal reasons, and there is plenty of logic to the Championship outfit’s pursuit of a player who is proven in England’s second tier. That said, Villa can try again in the summer if they don’t get him today.