Five Newcastle United departures made official as key man immediately joins new club
Five Newcastle United departures made official as key man immediately joins new club
Several players have officially left Newcastle United following the end of their contracts.
Five players have officially been released from Newcastle United following the expiration of their contracts on June 30.
Long-serving defender Emil Krafth has now officially left the club after seven years and will become a free agent. Kieran Trippier’s contract has also expired, but he has already agreed a deal to join Wolverhampton Wanderers, who he officially joins today.
Matt Targett, John Ruddy and Max Thompson are also released following the end of their contracts at Newcastle.
Targett spent last season on loan at Middlesbrough, who missed out on promotion to Hull City in the play-off final back in May. He will now be free to join a new club having played just a handful of times for Newcastle since joining the club permanently from Aston Villa for £15million back in 2022.
Goalkeepers Ruddy and Thompson leave the club without making a competitive first-team appearance. Thompson, 21, spent the second half of last season on loan at Ayr United in the Scottish Championship.
Prior to that, he had spent time on loan at Chesterfield in League Two and Northampton Town in League One.
Veteran goalkeeper Ruddy joined Newcastle as a free agent two years ago but did the majority of his work at the club behind the scenes and on the training ground with his only appearances coming in friendly matches.
Krafth made 106 appearances for Newcastle over seven seasons but saw his final campaign with the club curtailed due to a knee injury suffered in November. The 31-year-old also missed 14 months of action due to an ACL injury suffered in August 2022.
Trippier is Newcastle’s most notable release this summer having played a key role in the club’s transformation since his arrival in January 2022. The right-back helped Newcastle twice qualify for the Champions League and also lifted the Carabao Cup alongside Bruno Guimaraes and Jamaal Lascelles at Wembley Stadium in 2025.
Trippier is the only released player to have signed a pre-contract agreement as he officially joins Wolves on Wednesday. Anthony Gordon’s £70million move to Barcelona has already been announced but his contract at the club officially starts on July 1.
Now we’re into July, it also means several Newcastle first-team players are now into the final year of their contracts at St James’ Park. Nick Pope, Fabian Schar, Jacob Murphy, Joe Willock, Dan Burn, Mark Gillespie, Harrison Ashby and Joe White are all on deals that expire in June 2027.
