Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has informed one of his players that he is not going to play for the club again.
The Magpies have won two and drawn one of their opening three Premier League games this season as they look to kickstart a push towards returning to European football.
Howe's side had a relatively quiet transfer window, though missed out on top target Marc Guehi after failing to match Crystal Palace's asking price.
Newcastle did without signing a centre-back towards the end of the window as a result, with sporting director Paul Mitchell claiming that Guehi was the only player Howe wanted to improve his defence.
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The Magpies did previously sign Lloyd Kelly on a free transfer, with left-back Lewis Hall joining on a permanent deal from Chelsea.
That meant the club had to allow several defenders to leave, with Paul Dummett and Matt Ritchie both being released.
There was also a loan move away from the club for left-back Jamal Lewis, who became just the second player from the United Kingdom to represent a Brazilian side when he joined Sao Paulo on loan.
The 26-year-old signed for Newcastle from Norwich in 2020, but played just seven games in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons. He spent last season on loan at Watford.
And despite having nine months left on his contract, the Northern Ireland international says he has already been told 'the writing is on the wall' in regards to his time at the club.
He said (via the Daily Mirror): "I've spoken to the manager [Howe], and I'm in my last year and I've done a season-long loan, so that kind of has the writing on the wall.
"But if Sao Paulo can be my long-term home for the future, that would be amazing.
"I got here [for international duty from Brazil] at 7pm on Wednesday after a 15-hour journey, although my bags went missing.
"It [the transfer came about] the night our transfer window shut.
"My agent informed me that Sao Paulo could be interested and that things could move very quickly.
"I said I'd be 100 per cent interested, and it moved at 100 miles an hour. I'm really happy to be a Sao Paulo player."
Topics: Newcastle United, Premier League, Eddie Howe, Football, Transfers
Ryan Smart