West Ham expected to monitor Hayden contract talks at Newcastle – report
West Ham target Isaac Hayden has hired a new agent to try and sort out his future at Newcastle United, according to the Chronicle.
The North-East newspaper reports that the 25-year-old is in the final year of his contract at St James’ Park, with talks over a new agreement described as “ongoing”.
It is understood that West Ham and Crystal Palace are both keeping tabs on developments regarding the former Arsenal midfielder, who might be interested in moving south to be closer to his family this summer.
Last summer, the Telegraph reported how Hayden was looking to quit Newcastle so he could move to the south of England to be nearer to his young family.
However, Hayden ended up staying put on Tyneside and made 29 Premier League appearances for the Magpies to help them secure a comfortable mid-table finish.
It now seems that the noises about Hayden’s desire to move to the capital are getting louder and West Ham could offer the defensive midfielder a chance to get what he wants.
David Moyes already has a couple of defensive-minded midfielders in Declan Rice and Thomas Soucek but, on the whole, the Hammers’ central midfield options are fairly light.
Hayden can perform strongly in that area of the pitch.
Last season, according to stats by WyScout, the Newcastle ace averaged 7.67 recoveries and 3.61 interceptions per 90 minutes of Premier League football while he also won 63.6 per cent of defensive duels and completed 80.5 per cent of all his passes.
Rice, on the other hand, averaged more recoveries and interceptions while also boasting a better pass completion ratio than Hayden.
Hayden’s not as good as England international Rice but both play well in their respective roles at both St James’ Park and the London Stadium.
However, Rice is clearly better and if Hayden was to come in, he would merely be a back-up option for Moyes.
West Ham need to strengthen their starting line-up this summer after an awful campaign last time out so adding a player like Hayden shouldn’t be seen as a priority just yet.
In other West Ham news, David Moyes has reacted to the opening set of Premier League fixtures.