Isaac Hayden has been left in limbo after failing to secure a move away from Newcastle United last week.
The 29-year-old joined Ryan Fraser in training away from Eddie Howe’s squad during pre-season after returning from his loan spell at Queens Park Rangers.
But unlike Fraser, who re-joined Southampton on a two-year deal after the Magpies agreed to terminate his contract, Hayden was unable to find a new club before the English transfer window closed on Friday.
It means the midfielder, who attracted Championship interest, is facing the prospect of going abroad again having spent the first-half of last season on loan at Standard Liege, or remaining on Tyneside until January at least.
That could see Hayden turn out for the club’s under-21s – albeit unlikely. He almost certainly wont feature under Howe as it would require him to be named in the club’s 25-man Premier League squad.
Hayden has been frozen out of the first-team picture for the past two seasons.
Ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, he joined Norwich City, which included an obligation to buy, however the criteria wasn’t met amid an injury-hit spell and the Canaries’ failure to win immediate promotion back to the Premier League.
A move to Standard Liege followed but Hayden returned to England in January, joining QPR after threatening to take legal action against the Belgian club over wages they allegedly owed him.
Hayden had been keen to re-join the West London outfit but could only watch as Harrison Ashby went there on deadline day.
He is still under contract at St James’ Park until 2026 having penned an extension in September 2020. He has made 171 appearance for United – his last coming in December 2021 – since arriving from Arsenal in 2016.