Five Newcastle United deals set to expire in January – three players to ‘return’

Loris Karius’ short term contract at Newcastle is set to expire next month, as is Santiago Munoz's season-and-a-half loan from Santos Laguna. Kell Watts, Matty Longstaff and Rodrigo Vilca’s respective loan deals at Peterborough United, Colchester United and Universitario de Deportesare also set to expire in January.

Here is the current state of play regarding each player’s circumstances…

Loris Karius

A couple of weeks ago, all signs seemed to be pointing to Karius signing a new deal at Newcastle until the end of the season. The 29-year-old made his non-competitive debut for the club in Saudi Arabia as he played the first 45 minutes of United's 5-0 win over Al Hilal.

After the match, head coach Eddie Howe confirmed his desire to keep Karius on Tyneside. The former Liverpool goalkeeper signed for Newcastle as a free agent on a short-term deal back in September following an injury to Karl Darlow.

Speaking in Saudi Arabia Karius admitted there was a 'good chance' of him staying at Newcastle beyond January.

“It has been all positive and we're going to have some talks and see what we're going to do but of course I can see myself here for longer and push and hopefully get some more appearances in the future,” he said. “A competitive start, that's my aim, that's what I'm working towards every day and at the same time I'm supporting the other guys. I think there's a good chance I can stay here longer but we'll have to have a discussion over the next weeks.”

But he is still yet to make his competitive debut with Nick Pope the club’s first choice and Darlow preferred on the bench for the return to competitive action against AFC Bournemouth earlier this week.

Howe also confirmed that no progress had been made on a new deal for Karius just yet, with his situation unclear heading into New Year.

Santiago Munoz

The final signing of the Mike Ashley era at Newcastle was certainly one of the more bizarre as Mexican youngster Santiago Munoz joined the club on a season-and-a-half loan deal from Liga MX side Santos Laguna with an option to make the deal permanent at the end of it. There is no doubt a large factor in Munoz signing for The Magpies was due to him sharing a very similar name to fictional Newcastle player Santiago Munez from the movie Goal!

But over a year on and Munoz has made just one first team friendly appearance and has struggled to maintain a place in Elliott Dickman’s Under-21s side. Injuries have hampered his impact significantly on Tyneside and he has made just two starts for Newcastle’s second string side this season.

Munoz has been limited to just 13 appearances for Newcastle’s second string side since arriving last August. Newcastle are expected to decide against making Munoz loan move permanent as he is expected to return to Mexico once his loan officially expires in January.

When speaking earlier this season, Dickman said a decision was yet to be made on Munoz’s future.

"Santi’s injured, he’s in the hands of the medical team,” Dickman revealed.“In terms of what the next stages are for Santi, I’ll be honest with you, I really don’t know.

"I’m sure once the decision has been made somebody will let people know. At this moment in time, the main focus is getting Santi fit and getting him back on the grass and getting him involved in games. We’ll see what happens.”

The 20-year-old hasn’t featured for The Young Magpies since.

Matty Longstaff

The 22-year-old midfielder’s future at Newcastle looks to be coming to an end with his contract at the club set to expire in the summer. Longstaff spent the second half of last season on loan at Mansfield Town and returned to League Two with another loan move to Colchester United for the first half of the 2022-23 campaign.

But a hamstring injury has limited Longstaff to just five League Two starts so far this season as he currently remains sidelined with his loan set to expire in January.

Colchester are understood to be keen to explore the option of extending Longstaff’s loan until the end of the season as Newcastle are set to assess their options regarding the player.

Kell Watts

The 23-year-old defender joined League One side Peterborough United on loan in the summer despite being sidelined for months with a knee injury. But he has since recovered and started two league games for The Posh.

Watts remained at Newcastle during his rehab with Peterborough not having to pay any wage contribution until the player started a match. Now he is finally getting minutes under his belt, his initial loan deal is set to expire.

Given Watts wouldn’t be in serious contention for a first-team spot should he return to Newcastle, the club are likely to extend his loan until the end of the season, whether it be at Peterborough or elsewhere.

Rodrigo Vilca

The Peruvian midfielder signed a four year deal at Newcastle in October 2020 but is still yet to make a competitive first team appearance. He spent the first half of last season at Doncaster Rovers in League One before returning to Peru for the remainder of 2022 with Universitario.

The 23-year-old has played 22 times for the Peruvian outfit in all competitions this year, scoring once and grabbing two assists. His loan will officially end in January and his future looks set to be away from Newcastle despite having 18-months remaining on his current deal at the club.