Transfer Centre

Rafael Benitez not giving up on keeping Isaac Hayden

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 16 March 2019

Rafael Benitez believes that Isaac Hayden can be persuaded to stay at Newcastle United, despite the midfielder handing in a transfer request last year.

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has urged unsettled midfielder Isaac Hayden to stay at St James' Park and take his career to the next level.

The 23-year-old handed in a transfer request last summer and admitted in January, having seen an exit blocked, that his stance had not changed.

Hayden said that he is keen to move south to be closer with his family, but he has played a pivotal role for Newcastle since then and is now one of the first names on Benitez's team sheet.

Taking advantage of a number of injury issues, the Arsenal academy product has been used 13 times so far in 2019, and Benitez believes that he is capable of improving further and possibly earning recognition with an England call-up.

Asked if he can persuade Hayden to stay, Benitez told reporters: "Maybe. We have to wait. If he's doing well and happy, you never know. The main thing for anyone in your job is to do well. If he's playing and doing well, he's enjoying it, he said. Hayden, when he wanted to go, he was not happy.

"After, when he started playing games, playing well, so you can see his face every day - he's enjoying himself. At the beginning [of the season] it was not easy. We can have conversations about anything [at the end of the season] but you can see that he's enjoying [playing]. It's something that he will analyse at the end [of the season].

"I think he can play even better. I was thinking he could do well, progress and be in the national team. He has the potential to play for England. He just needs to settle down and understand the game in another way.

"It's a question of time. With his background coming from Arsenal, and the quality he had technically, he needed to understand his position. Sometimes, because he has this energy, he's running to spaces he could avoid and maybe he could be in a better position. If he can improve that, he can be a much better player."

Hayden has been used 20 times in all competitions this term, playing a direct part in four goals from central midfield.