Former Newcastle United & Spurs defender set for 11,000-mile transfer after issuing farewell message

The 21-year-old defender joined Newcastle from Tottenham Hotspur back in 2022 and was a regular at Under-21s level before his contract expired last summer. Hackett joined eighth-tier Cornish club Mousehole AFC back in August on a permanent deal.

After featuring regularly for the club during the first half of the 2024-25 campaign and scoring his first goal in senior football from the penalty spot, the former England Under-18s international has left Mousehole to join New Zealand second-tier club Western Springs AFC.

Following his departure from Mousehole, Hackett took to social media to write: “Mousehole AFC, thank you for everything and an enjoyable experience, best of luck the rest of the season.”

Hackett’s final game for Mousehole came on February 15 in a 0-0 draw at Tavistock. The New Zealand Northern League season officially gets underway on March 22 against East Coast Bays.

It marks the latest stop on an interesting journey for Hackett so early into his football career. The left-back moved almost as far away from Newcastle as possible while remaining in England when joining Mousehole - now he’s moved almost as far away from England as possible by moving over 11,000 miles to New Zealand.

Hackett one of 10 Under-21s players released by Newcastle United in 2024

Newcastle’s retained list published at the end of the 2023-24 season confirmed Hackett’s departure. Other young players released were Amadou Diallo, Michael Ndiweni, Will Brown, Jude Smith, Matthew Bondswell, Lucas De Bolle, Kyle Crossley, Dylan Stephenson and Shaun Mavididi.

Diallo is now at French fourth-tier club Bordeaux alongside former Newcastle striker Andy Carroll. Ndiweni, who made his Premier League debut for Newcastle last season, is now playing for Newcastle Blue Star after a spell at Ashington.

Lucas De Bolle signed for South Shields, Jude Smith is at Carlisle United, Bondswell was recently released by Hartlepool United and joined Peterborough Sports while Dylan Stephenson and Kyle Crossley are at South Shields and Mavididi joined Fleetwood Town’s academy in October

Ahead of his departure from Newcastle in May 2024, Hackett wrote: “Been a pleasure NUFC, thank you to all staff and teammate for making it an enjoyable experience. Onto the next journey.”

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