Isaac Hayden's first words as a Portsmouth player as Newcastle United midfielder sends message to John Mousinho
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
The midfieder says he is at Pompey to share his knowledge and expertise to staff and players in their battle for Championship survival.
The 29-year-old was confirmed as the Blues’ second signing of the January transfer window on Friday. He arrived from The Toon, where he has been frozen out by boss Eddie Howe since December 2021.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdDespite not playing any first-team football at Newcastle this season, Hayden was called up to represent Jamaica. He made two appearances for the Reggae Boyz in November, playing 135 minutes.
Pompey play Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park this upcoming Wednesday, and the experienced midfielder will be pushing to be a part of proceedings in Lancashire. A win against the play-off hopefuls could create some distance between Pompey and the bottom three.
‘I want to help contribute to something meaningful,’ said Hayden in an interview with the Pompey website.
‘I got that little bit of a taste back when I went away with Jamaica. We were pushing for the win in the quarter-finals, which didn't end up happening. Just to be part of something again, and be part of a group pushing in the same direction to achieve a goal was nice.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad‘I'm looking forward to that now. As I said, I'm just here, you know, to play as many minutes as possible, give as much experience, as much knowhow, and knowledge as I can to the group and the staff, and do my best for the club.’


Isaac Hayden’s experience in the Championship
Hayden returns to English football's second tier eight months after a loan spell with QPR. He played 17 times for the Hoops over the second half of last season and helped them with their goal of Championship survival.
His other experience in the Championship came with Hull City in 2015-16, Newcastle United a year later, and then Norwich City in 2022-23. In total, he has made 82 appearances in the division, with four assists and three goals.
At Hull, Hayden made 18 appearances across the campaign, registering a goal and assist. That season, the Tigers finished fourth and won promotion via the play-offs, but he wasn’t involved.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdA year later at Newcastle, he made 33 appearances - 28 of which were starts. He had a consistent run in the side from August to February, but then was out for a month with an ankle injury. Hayden returned for their run-in, with Newcastle winning the Championship title.
When The Toon were promoted, Hayden was able to play a consistent run of games in the Premier League for five seasons, but eventually fell out of favour.
A loan move to Norwich took place two seasons ago, but Hayden was limited to 14 appearances. He didn't make his league debut until October, and played for a period until the end of December, before facing three months on the sidelines. Hayden returned for the end of season run-in, with the Canaries finishing 13th that season.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.