A lot of Newcastle United fans have responded to a tweet from Lee Ryder after he confirmed that the Toon are to release Luke Charman, Nathan Harker, Victor Fernandez and Liam Gibson at the end of June.
This followed the announcement that Jack Colback, Rob Elliot and Jamie Sterry are to also leave the club.
Still, Javier Manquillo recently signed a new four-year contract, while Andy Carroll has extended his stay on Tyneside for another year.
However, it the news of these four players leaving the Toon that grabbed the attention of these Newcastle fans.
Are you sad to see these players leave?
No, clearly weren't good enough
Yes, would have liked to see them get a chance
Wow
— Simon (@LittleHenryD) June 25, 2020
thank god someones starting to clear out the pkayers we dont need, colback and sterry were the most pointless over 21s we had, shows that the club is actually taking a step forward
— Geordie_Fan9 (@Fan9Geordie) June 25, 2020
Of the four who have been released, Fernandez had been expected to push for the first team at some point.
So, these Toon fans are particularly disappointed to see him departing.
Ah man, fernandez looked promising
— Jack ?? (@jchaytor16) June 25, 2020
Thought Fernandez was a hot prospect
— Dan Holmes ??????? (@DanToon4Life) June 25, 2020
What a shame Victor Did not fulfill his potential
— Andreas Martins ????????? (@amth0) June 25, 2020
Fernandez is a strange one
— Arron Gallagher (@_arrongallagher) June 25, 2020
weird, fernandez is decent https://t.co/zWm3pC5HIj
— NON CORONA FAN (@ProperBr00tal) June 25, 2020
Can’t believe we’ve released Fernández. He’s been great at centre back next to Lascelles. Poor from the club. #NUFC https://t.co/ebRNepmfLU
— Jack (@J_92__) June 25, 2020
Shocked about Fernandez #nufc https://t.co/L7j3HluL9j
— . (@DomP3arson) June 25, 2020
There has been a swathe of players released across the Premier League – so it is no surprise to see Newcastle follow suit, and it seems as if these four never did enough to make the cut or they might have stayed on.
One young player who has impressed this season though is Matty Longstaff, and while he has not yet committed his long-term future to Newcastle, he has signed a deal that will see him stay on Tyneside until the end of the season.
However, beyond then, his future is uncertain, with both Newcastle and Udinese having made contract offers to the 20-year-old.
This season, he has made 13 appearances for Newcastle, in which he has scored three goals, but as of yet, he has not committed to staying on Tyneside – so it will be interesting to see what he does.
Unlike the latest quartet, it is perhaps a positive sign that Longstaff has at least signed on for the very immediate future.