Five Newcastle United players on summer notice…

Five Newcastle United players on summer notice following the January transfer window

As the January transfer window closes, and the likes of Anthony Gordon and Harrison Ashby arrive at Newcastle just as Jonjo Shelvey departs, some players will be nervously looking towards the summer.

But who is most likely to follow Shelvey out of the door once the market reopens in the summer and United might be preparing for European football?

Here, we look at five of the players who are most likely serving their final few months’ notice at St James’ Park.

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Martin Dubravka

The Slovak keeper joined the club in January 2018 from Sparta Prague but looks certain to leave permanently in the summer after returning from an unsuccessful loan spell at Manchester United to find his prospects even more limited on Tyneside. Not only has summer signing Nick Pope come in and universally impressed while producing a record-breaking run of clean sheets, but former Liverpool keeper Loris Karius has also arrived to challenge for a place as Pope’s deputy.

Dubravka will surely look to secure first-team football elsewhere come the summer, although he will leave with the best wishes of most fans.

Javier Manquillo

The 28-year-old full-back joined from Atletico Madrid six years ago, and overcame the stigma of having been relegated while on loan at Sunderland to provide a great rotational option for successive managers at St James’ Park.

But with Manquillo having already had to fight with Emil Krafth for a starting place, Kieran Trippier’s arrival in the January 2022 window and subsequent stunning form have further restricted the Spaniard’s opportunities.

And with youngster Harrison Ashby newly arrived from West Ham as Trippier’s intended understudy, Manquillo’s days on Tyneside are numbered.

Matt Ritchie

The “magic hat”-wearing winger is now 33 and out of contract this summer. That, and his fall down the pecking order behind the likes of Miguel Almiron, Allan Saint-Maximin and now new boy Anthony Gordon, mean it is inevitable that Ritchie’s seventh season at St James’ Park will be his last.

He is most likely to look for a new club close to his native south coast as he looks to settle down for the last few years of his career.

Jamal Lewis

Having joining Newcastle from Norwich in 2020 for £15m, the full-back has struggled to ever realise the promise he showed at Carrow Road. Eddie Howe moved quickly to add Matt Targett to his squad last January, and has since moulded Dan Burn into a starting left-back.

But while there is little prospect of Lewis forging a first-team future with United, they would have to accept a serious hit on their investment in him if he is to find a new club – as he surely wants to do at the age of 25 - this summer.

Ryan Fraser

Having shown signs of his old Bournemouth form earlier in former Cherries boss Howe’s reign at St James’ Park, Fraser has again fallen into the shadows this season.

At 31, the Scotland international still has two and a half years left on his contract, but he has clearly fallen behind not just Almiron and Saint-Maximin but also Jacob Murphy in Howe’s pecking order. And now, with the £40m signing of fellow winger Gordon, Fraser is a near-certainty to be allowed to leave at the end of the season – if Newcastle can find a buyer.