West Ham United are looking at Newcastle midfielder Isaac Hayden as a possible alternative to Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes in news that should focus minds at St James’ Park.
Hayden has spoken of his reluctant desire to leave United this summer for personal reasons and West Ham have identified him as a potential target, according to reports from the Capital.
The Evening Standard claims Hayden’s price has been set at £15million, although United may push for closer to £20million if they are to let him leave.
The thinking at St James’ Park is that he is a young, English talent with the potential to be capped for his country in the near future if he keeps developing and he will need to be replaced.
But there is the added factor of Benitez potentially hoping to retain Hayden if he stays on Tyneside. Benitez’s powers of persuasion would be tested because Hayden’s reasons for wanting to stay at Newcastle are to be closer to his young family but the Newcastle boss might feel he has a chance of keeping him if the team is going to develop.
At the moment all moves in and out of the club have been put on hold while Benitez’s future is sorted out but there are some big issues to solve this summer and time is of the essence. The Newcastle manager’s contract has another 26 days to run before it expires, and with negotiations having ended it is now up to Benitez to decide whether to renew his deal in the face of uncertainty over the club’s ownership.
