Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers and Plymouth Argyle on transfer alert after revealing interview

Reported Preston North End target Isaac Hayden has been branded 'inconsistent' by an official at his loan club Standard Liege. 

North End are one of four clubs said to be interested in the midfielder this month and a return to Newcastle United is now all but certain. The 28-year-old is currently out on loan at cash-strapped Liege, but a recall has been suggested by the English press. 

In a revealing interview with the Belgian press, Standard Liege’s CEO Pierre Locht did not think Hayden would be returning for the second half of the Belgian Pro League season. The 2023/24 campaign is currently on a winter break and will resume on Saturday, January 20. 

Liege played Borussia Dortmund in a mid-season friendly and have Luzern on Friday (January 12) and Hayden was not part of the side that travelled to the camp in Marbella. 

“It’s likely that he won’t come back [to Belgium], yes," Locht told La Dernière Heure. 

"We wanted a player who brought an immediate superior quality to the team.

"Isaac had a lot of experience in the Premier League. He’s a true number six, capable of settling the game, a stable element. But, in the image of the team, he had some good games but was then too inconsistent.”

North End are said to be in competition with Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday, and Plymouth Argyle for Hayden according to the Telegraph. Newcastle United favour loaning out Hayden to an English club.

In October, Hayden said that he felt he was better than the Championship when he received offers in the summer and that is an obvious hurdle to overcome. A move to Luton Town fell through at the end of the summer transfer window and now Hayden will either have to seek an opportunity elsewhere in Europe or go back on his words and consider a move to English football's second tier.