"A sensible signing" - Hull City told to consider move for Newcastle United midfielder | OneFootball

FLW has been speaking with our Hull City fan pundit to discuss whether or not a move for Isaac Hayden would be a smart one this summer.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Hull City are reportedly interested in a loan move for Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden, but face competition from fellow Championship clubs West Bromwich Albion and Queens Park Rangers.

The Tigers are in battle with the Baggies and the R's for Hayden's signature according to journalist Mike McGrath via X, following the versatile midfielder's impressive loan spells with both Standard Liege and QPR last season.

At just 29, the former Arsenal man still has some good years ahead of him, but would he be a smart signing for Hull? Or does his injury record give cause for concern over his reliability?

Football League World investigates...

Hull City fan pundit: "A sensible signing"

FLW's Hull City fan pundit, Ant Northgraves, doesn't question the quality that Hayden would bring to the MKM Stadium, but isn't sure whether the club would be able to rely on him given his injury history.

Northgraves said: "I'm a bit mixed about this one. From what I've seen of Isaac Hayden in recent years, he seems like a solid player, maybe not one that could propel you to the heights that we are trying to get to.

"I just think that it's maybe to just to kind of get a squad player in, he's a lot older than when we had him last time. The only concern would be at the minute is that his injury record is really poor.

"I think us, especially with our recent record of signing players and then getting lengthy injuries, I don't think that we'd be willing to take a gamble on a player with an injury record like what he's got.

"I don't know, maybe just to fill out squad numbers in the middle just to give us an option in case of suspensions, injuries, things like that. He might be worth a punt on loan, obviously he's not going to cost us that much money in terms of a loan fee.

"So, it might be a smart move. He's obviously played quite a lot of games at this level and above, so he's dependable in that sense. It's just whether or not he can stay fit.

"But on a loan, it's relatively low-risk, so I think it would maybe be a sensible signing."

Hull would be wise to add experience to youthful midfield

Finding the right balance between the number of young players and veteran commodities is always one of the most important aspects to get right when building a squad.

In the case of Hull City's 2024/25 team under Tim Walter, they certainly have enough of the former, but are perhaps lacking the presence of enough players who've been there and done it.

Hayden definitely fits that bill, having won the Championship with Newcastle United in 2016/17, whilst also accumulating second tier experience over the course of his career with the likes of Norwich City, QPR, and of course, Hull.

Adding a player who's made well over 100 Premier League appearances during his career could have a big impact on Hull's crop of young midfield starlets such as Xavier Simons, Regan Slater, Finley Burns and Stanley Ashbee for example.

Simons was one of Hull's best performers in their opening day draw with Bristol City, whilst Slater has proven himself to be a quality Championship central midfielder over the last few seasons.

As such, Walter would likely not need to ask Hayden play 90 minutes every week, and thus his fitness could be managed to a point where the risk of injury is as low as possible.

If he was going to be required to play a starting role week-in, week-out this season, then that would have to be seen as a big gamble by Hull. But because that wouldn't appear to be the case due to Walter's talented options he already has in midfield, it shouldn't be seen as much of a risk being taken.

Having a player such as Hayden to the dressing room could be a highly shrewd addition when the heat is on towards the end of the season, and would provide Hull with a quality option to call upon when needed.