'Overwhelmed' - Defender issues heartfelt reaction ahead of Newcastle United summer move

Newcastle United’s longest-serving player Paul Dummett will be leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of the month.

A club statement released this week confirmed that Dummett, Matt Ritchie, Loris Karius, Kell Watts and Jeff Hendrick would be released on June 30.

The news of Dummett and Ritchie’s departures in particular was met with an overwhelmingly heartfelt reaction from supporters given the pair’s contributions to the first team over the past decade. Both Ritchie and Dummett played key roles in helping Newcastle earn promotion from the Championship in 2016-17 and maintain the club’s place in the Premier League.

Dummett made his Newcastle debut in January 2013 and went on to make 213 first-team appearances for the club having progressed through the academy, scoring four goals. The 32-year-old joined his boyhood club in the early 2000s as a youngster but will now be free to find a new club this summer ahead of the 2024-25 season.

“The time has come for me to say goodbye to the club,” Dummett posted on social media. “I write this message with a heavy heart having been proud to have represented the first team for 12 years, something I never in a million years thought I’d ever achieve.”

The defender’s post was flooded with responses of gratitude and support, prompting him to issue a subsequent post.

“Overwhelmed by the volume of incredible messages and comments I’ve received from the announcement [on] Wednesday,” Dummett added. “I can’t reply to them all, but I have read every one of them. Thank you.”