Newcastle United confirm loan departure of former Hull City and Queens Park Rangers midfielder

The 29-year-old has been out of the picture at St James’ Park in recent years and had loan stints at Norwich City, Standard Liege and Queens Park Rangers.

He has been kicking his heels this season but has now been given an opportunity to play regular football at Portsmouth.

A defensive midfielder by trade, Hayden has joined the Championship side on a deal running until the end of the season.

Pompey boss John Mousinho said: “Isaac is a central midfielder who has a wealth of experience in the Premier League and Championship.

“He’s extremely comfortable with the ball at his feet and is also very strong defensively, possessing a lot of the attributes we were looking for.

“But he’s also a leader both on and off the pitch, so we’re delighted to be able to add him to the squad for the rest of the season.”

A familiar face at Hull, Hayden’s first and only loan switch away from Arsenal took him to East Yorkshire during the 2015/16 campaign.

He made 24 appearances for the club, scoring his only goal in a 6-0 rout of Charlton Athletic.

The Jamaica international was linked with a return to Yorkshire in 2023, when Sheffield Wednesday were credited with interest in doing a deal.

Newcastle signed Hayden from Newcastle in 2016 but despite initially establishing himself as a regular, the midfielder has tumbled down the pecking order.