Norwich City are delighted to announce the signing of midfielder Isaac Hayden on loan from Newcastle United.
Hayden, 27, has put pen to paper on a season-long deal at Carrow Road.
City will have an obligation to make the deal permanent should certain performance-related criteria be met throughout the course of the 2022/23 season.
Speaking to canaries.co.uk, Hayden said: “I am absolutely delighted. This is a fantastic club. Everything is well run, it has got a good infrastructure and the stadium and the fan base is great.
“I am here to try to help the team get back to the Premier League. The facilities at the training ground are great and changed significantly from when I have visited before. I’ve also looked at our squad and I want to add to that and help get us promoted straight away.
“The head coach was a big factor for me. He called me straight away and saw that I was out of the picture at Newcastle. I had spoken to him a few times before and he always struck me as somebody who was trying to do the right things and doing things very well at football clubs."
Hayden started his professional career with Arsenal, progressing through their academy setup. He made his senior debut for the Gunners in a League Cup game away at West Bromwich Albion in September 2013.
He spent the 2015/16 season on loan at Hull City, gaining promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, before then completing a permanent transfer to Newcastle United in the summer of 2016.
Hayden has since registered a total of 161 appearances for Newcastle, playing a key role in their Championship title win in the 2016/17 campaign.
Head coach Dean Smith added: “We’re really pleased to have the deal for Isaac sorted so early. We know of his ability and he’s a player I’ve been tracking for a number of years.
“He’s a really good footballer and has both excellent technical and ball-winning qualities. He plays mainly as a holding midfielder, is good aerially and we believe he can be very good for us in both boxes.
“He brings a lot of experience of both the Premier League and Championship. We know he is a really good personality and character and that will add to our group.
“The fact that he can join us at the start of pre-season is great. Overall, we’re delighted with the signing and look forward to welcoming Isaac to the group.”