What will Newcastle United do with players in the final year of their contracts?

Remarkably, for a Premier League club, Newcastle have 11 experienced players who have entered the final year of their current contract at St James' Park. As things stand, all of these players will be able to leave the club as free agents early next summer.

Who are the 11 players and what might Newcastle plan to do with them over the next year?

MARTIN DUBRAVKA

Most observers expected Dubravka to leave the club this summer, but despite interest from several clubs, most notably Celtic, the Slovakian international remained on Tyneside.

Dubravka started on the bench on the opening weekend but returned to the team for Sunday's win over Tottenham, starting on the bench. As he turns 36 in January, it is extremely unlikely that Newcastle will offer Dubravka a new contract. However, their best chance of getting a fee for his services has almost certainly been lost. As things stand, there is a good chance he will leave as a free agent next summer.

JOHN RUDDY

Ruddy joined Newcastle this summer after being released by Birmingham City, signing a one-year deal which means his contract runs until next June.

His on-field involvement is likely to be limited this season, despite not playing in both the draw with Bournemouth and the Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest, but Eddie Howe values ​​his experience off the pitch and his effort on the training ground, so there is a chance Ruddy could be tied down to the club on another short-term contract despite his 38th birthday next month.

MARK GILLESPIE

After being released as a teenager, Gillespie returned to Newcastle from Motherwell in the summer of 2020. However, he only made three appearances for the Magpies' first team.

READ MORE:

Yet Newcastle's recruitment team decided to activate a clause in his contract earlier this summer that extended his stay on Tyneside until the end of this season. Does that mean the end of his time at the Magpies? Chances are, although Newcastle's failure to sign James Trafford this summer means their long-term goalkeeping situation remains extremely uncertain.

KIERAN TRIPPIER

After Newcastle rejected interest from Bayern Munich in January, this summer was the team's last realistic chance to make money from Trippier, whose contract expires in June.

However, with Howe insisting he did not want to lose the recently retired international, Trippier remained on Tyneside despite falling behind Tino Livramento in the right-back pecking order. Given ongoing links with Turkish club Eyupspor, there is still a chance Trippier could leave in the next few weeks. If he doesn't, it's hard to imagine him being offered a new contract, given he turns 34 in a couple of weeks.

DAN BURN

What will Newcastle do with Burn, a key first-team player but who will be 33 when his contract expires next summer?

On one hand, Burn is a hugely influential member of the first team and a player whose defensive versatility has made him a key player during Howe's tenure. But given the PSR restrictions they operate under, can Newcastle really afford to hand out contracts to players who are almost in their mid-30s? The decision on Burn's future could be a crucial test of how much power and influence Howe still has.

FABIAN SCHAR

Schar's position is very similar to Burn's, as he is an extremely important first-team player who is now over 30.

Schar is slightly older than Burn – he turns 33 in December – and Newcastle's desperate attempt to sign Marc Guehi this summer showed there was a consensus that major surgery was needed at the back. Would Schar agree to a short-term deal, possibly for another season? Or will he see this as his last chance to land a lucrative move abroad?

EMIL KRAFTH

Howe praised Krafth's value in Sunday's win over Spurs, but the Swede is effectively a reserve right-back, currently being used as an emergency centre-back.

If all of Newcastle's defenders were fit, he would be way down the order, so given his 30th birthday in the summer, it's hard to imagine him being offered a new contract. The more likely scenario is him leaving as a free agent in the summer.

JAMAAL LASCELLES

Lascelles has long been one of Newcastle's key leaders, but his influence on and off the field is waning.

The 30-year-old is expected to return from a cruciate ligament injury in the autumn, but his first-team opportunities are likely to remain limited and an exit next summer seems likely. It will be for nothing, which is another black mark on Newcastle's transfer dealings, as there have been several points in the past when they could have sold Lascelles for a hefty fee.

JAMAL LEWIS

Lewis leaves Newcastle in one of the surprise transfers of the summer. Brazilian club Sao Paulo have agreed a deal to sign him, although it is still unclear whether it will be a loan or a permanent move.

Either way, the full-back has almost certainly kicked his last ball for the Magpies as his £15m move from Norwich has proven to be a major failure.

SEAN LONGSTAFF

If Newcastle wanted to make big money from Longstaff – a homegrown player whose sale would be positive for PSR's balance sheet – the company would almost certainly have had to broker a deal this summer.

The midfielder's future seemed to hang in the balance at times, but he remained on Tyneside and his value is therefore decreasing with each passing day. Could this prompt the Magpies to offer the north-easterner a new contract? Rather than lose him for nothing, it might now make more sense to keep him in the team.

CALLUM WILSON

Wilson's future has been the subject of much speculation over the past few seasons, but Howe was reluctant to lose the experienced striker and in the end the Magpies boss prevailed.

The 32-year-old is expected to be back from injury in the next few weeks. Although he will be a valuable addition and competition to Alexander Isak this season, his value will be completely gone by the end of the season.

Perhaps Newcastle will make one last attempt to get something for him in January? Whatever the case, an asset that might have been worth around £30 million a few years ago isn't worth anywhere near that much now.