Newcastle United player tells club it is his 'objective' to leave - contract expires in 2025

Ryan Fraser has revealed his 'objective' is to leave Newcastle United and sign for Southampton this summer.

The 29-year-old winger is currently on loan at the Championship club after being frozen out at Newcastle under Eddie Howe. Fraser was made to train with The Magpies' under-21s squad for the second half of last season before joining Southampton on loan in the summer.

Fraser still has 18 months left on his contract at Newcastle but has impressed whilst on loan with The Saints, scoring seven goals in 25 appearances so far.

Fraser joined Newcastle in 2020 following his release from AFC Bournemouth, where he had previously worked under Howe. The winger went on to make 59 appearances for the club, scoring three times.

Reflecting on his time at Newcastle, he told the Southampton club website: “At the start of my Newcastle journey with Steve Bruce, it was tough. I’m not going to speak badly of Steve Bruce, I just didn’t play and it didn’t work out. He’s still a nice guy, but it is what it is.

“Then Eddie came in and we started doing well together again. I started playing every game again, Newcastle were doing well, we went on a ten or 11-game unbeaten streak, the lads were fantastic, but then I wasn’t playing again.

“In football, you just want to play, or if you’re not playing you want to help the team in a certain way. It just came to an end. It’s hard to get into because there’s a lot that went on. Honestly, it’s tough to speak about.

"Obviously with the Eddie thing at the end, the media don’t know what’s happened so they couldn’t come out and say what’s happened, it was just that I was down in the under-21s, so a lot of people just jump to things – they believe what they want to believe, because everyone’s got an opinion.”

“[Howe] was unbelievable for me. I did well for him, I learned from him, so it’s sad that it’s ended but it has ended now. It’s something I’ll always cherish, the years we had.”

Fraser was part of the Bournemouth squad that progressed from League One to the Premier League under Howe. He made over 200 appearances for The Cherries over eight seasons but left on bad terms after refusing to extend his contract amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bournemouth were relegated once football resumed and Fraser left to join Newcastle on a free.

Fraser added: “I think if you ask people within football, I’d like to think they say I’m a nice person! I don’t know what it is, maybe people still don’t think I’m a nice person, but as long as my family and the people at Southampton think I’m nice and genuine, that’s all that matters to me."

Southampton agreeing a permanent deal for Fraser could prove difficult due to the finances involved. But with promotion back to the Premier League a realistic possibility for The Saints, their chances of signing the Scottish winger would be significantly boosted.

“I’ve got two objectives,” Fraser continued. “The big one is to get promoted, and the second one is to sign here for as long as I can.”