Coach admits Newcastle United could still confirm midfielder transfer after January deadline

The January transfer window may be closed but Newcastle United's business may not be done quite yet.
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Newcastle’s 23-year-old midfielder Rodrigo Vilca is facing an uncertain future at the club having returned from his loan spell at Universitario in Peru. Vilca has come off the bench in each of the last two matches for United’s Under-21s side as an over-age player but is still yet to make his first-team debut after almost two-and-a-half years at the club.

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Rodrigo Vilca of Newcastle United U21's on the ball with Jak Hickman of Bolton Wanderers during the EFL Trophy match between Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United U21 at University of Bolton Stadium on November 17, 2020 in Bolton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images)Rodrigo Vilca of Newcastle United U21's on the ball with Jak Hickman of Bolton Wanderers during the EFL Trophy match between Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United U21 at University of Bolton Stadium on November 17, 2020 in Bolton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images)
Rodrigo Vilca of Newcastle United U21's on the ball with Jak Hickman of Bolton Wanderers during the EFL Trophy match between Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United U21 at University of Bolton Stadium on November 17, 2020 in Bolton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images)

The Peruvian signed a four-year deal at Newcastle in October 2020 and spent the first half of last season on loan at Doncaster Rovers in League One. But after struggling to make much of an impact in the third tier, Vilca returned to Newcastle.

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In March 2022, he returned to his home country with Universitario where he made 22 appearances, scoring once. The loan move came outside of the English transfer window due to the Peruvian window being open at different times of the year.

Despite the transfer window now being shut in England, another such move hasn’t been ruled out by Newcastle.

Under-21s coach Ben Dawson admitted the situation with the midfielder is ‘ongoing’ as the player has ‘more options’ to potentially explore.

“If something comes in for him then we'll discuss it and consider it,” Dawson told The Gazette. “With Rodrigo's situation, there is probably more options with other countries and obviously the deadline is a little bit different with him as well, so the situation with him is ongoing.”

Vilca is expected to be allowed to leave Newcastle with his contract at the club set to expire next summer.