Isaac Hayden has reaffirmed his desire to leave Newcastle United in the remaining fortnight of the transfer window for family reasons.
The 23-year-old played 40 minutes of the Magpies' 2-2 draw with Hull City on Tuesday evening, despite handing in a transfer request at the start of the summer.
United boss Rafael Benitez had hoped to persuade Hayden to change his stance, but the Arsenal academy product is becoming increasingly desperate to move back south to be closer to his family.
"The club know my stance. I spoke to them at the start of the summer," the Newcastle Chronicle quotes him as saying. "I spoke to the manager, I spoke to the club. I let them know about the situation. I've done my bit for the club. I helped the club get promoted and I helped the club stay in the Premier League last season. I just hope that they can find a solution to help me with my situation.
"If not, I'm a professional, so I'm going to do my job, but they know my stance. It's not changed. It's a decision I didn't come to very easily, but it was a decision I had to make. Football's obviously important to me, but family's a completely different ball game, and, for me, family takes precedence over football.
"I didn't want to have to make the decision I made, but I felt there was no other alternative. I spoke with the club about it at the start of the off-season so they had plenty of time to be aware of it, but things haven't materialised how I hoped they'd materialise. But, like I said, I'm still a professional. Whatever happens at the end of the window, I have to deal with it. My stance hasn't changed.
"The club know my stance hasn't changed. It's just about trying to find a solution which works best for the football club and works best for me. I've done my bit over the last two years to get this football club back kind of where it belongs in the top 10 of the Premier League, and I just hope they recognise that and help me with a solution."
Brighton & Hove Albion were rumoured to have shown an interest in Hayden, but no move has yet materialised.
Daniel Lewis
