QPR, West Brom and Hull City target to be excluded from Premier League squad amid free agent news

QPR, West Brom and Hull City summer target Isaac Hayden is expected to be excluded from the Premier League squad finalised by Newcastle United over the next week and a half.

Top flight sides must confirm their 25-man squads before their first match back after the international break. Any players over the age of 21 must be named in the squad to be able to play in the Premier League this season.

The Shields Gazette reports that midfielder Isaac Hayden is 'at risk' of not being included in that squad by Eddie Howe having not played for the Magpies since December 2021. The former Arsenal man spent the back end of last season at Loftus Road having endured an underwhelming loan at Standard Liege earlier in the campaign.

Hayden was revitalised at QPR under Marti Cifuentes and played an important role in the club's Championship relegation dogfight. The Newcastle United man made 17 appearances for the R's and had shared that he was keen for a return to the club.

As such, QPR were heavily linked with a move for the player this summer. However, nothing came to fruition on that deal and Cifuentes turned to bringing in Jonathan Varane from Sporting Gijon. Last month, The Telegraph reporter Mike McGrath also named Hull City and West Brom as second tier sides looking at a loan deal for the player.

Hayden is contracted at St James' Park until 2026 and is believed to be on a salary of around £50,000 per week, which he took a pay cut from to play for QPR last season. That salary is reported to have posed a problem in loan discussions for Championship clubs.

The Northern Echo now reports that Newcastle United's desperation to get the player off their books could lead to accepting a mutual contract termination that would make Hayden a free agent. This would free the player up to join an EFL side even after Deadline Day.

Another option for the Magpies is to continue with their attempts to loan or sell the player to an overseas club that is not restricted by the transfer window dates that apply to clubs on the continent.