Newcastle United news as Eddie Howe makes 25-man squad decision and Lingard allowed time off

Here are the latest Newcastle United evening headlines on Thursday, February 3.

Newcastle announced their 25-man Premier League squad for the second half of the season earlier this evening.

Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes and Dan Burn have all been added to the squad but their additions meant that three players would have to miss out.

Isaac Hayden’s long-term knee injury forced him out of the squad while Eddie Howe clearly doesn’t view Ciaran Clark and Jamal Lewis as key members of the side.

The absence of the latter’s name has annoyed a number of Magpies fans who believe Lewis to be a better player than some of the other players in the squad.

Read more on the squad announcement here.

Newcastle pushed for a Deadline Day loan move for Jesse Lingard after their move for Hugo Ekitike collapsed with the player having doubts over personal reasons.

Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick had given the England international his blessing to leave Old Trafford the remainder of the season but the offer ultimately fell short of their expectations.

In his pre-match press conference ahead of the Red Devils’ FA Cup clash with Middlesbrough, the German confirmed that Lingard requested some time off to clear his mind.

"He asked me and the club if we could give him a a couple of days off just to clear up his mind and he will be back in the group next Monday, back for training, and be a regular part of the whole squad again," said Rangnick.

"Three weeks ago, Jesse didn't want to leave. Then he changed his mind.

"I had a chat with him some 10 days ago and I could fully understand why he wanted to leave to get game time for his future and, also, the World Cup.”

Read more of what Rangnick had to say on Lingard here.

Dan