Newcastle United second summer loan departure confirmed ahead of imminent transfer

Newcastle defender Matthew Bondswell has joined League Two side Newport County on a season-long loan deal. The 21-year-old left-back joined United from RB Leipzig in 2021 but is yet to make a competitive first team appearance.

He spent the second half of the 2021-22 campaign on loan at Shrewsbury Town but didn’t feature before earning a call-up to Eddie Howe’s first-team squad for the pre-season trip to Portugal last summer. Bondswell came on as a half-time substitute against Benfica as Newcastle were beaten 3-2 at Estadio Da Luz.

Bondswell is Newcastle’s second loan departure so far this summer after new signing Yankuba Minteh’s loan to Feyenoord was confirmed after his £7million arrival from Odense. Minteh remains the Magpies’ only incoming so far but he is soon to be followed by Sandro Tonali from AC Milan.

The 23-year-old Italian midfielder has agreed terms to complete a St James’ Park switch but has been away with Italy’s Under-21s side in the European Under-21 Championship in Romania.

But with Italy now knocked out of the tournament, Tonali is due on Tyneside to complete his transfer that will see him become the most expensive Italian ever. The deal is valued at £52million though reports in Italy claim the price tag is closer to £60million with add-ons taken into consideration.

Giuseppe Riso, Tonali’s agent, confirmed the move last week as he said: “This is an excellent deal. Newcastle is the perfect project for Tonali. Newcastle wanted Sandro as a key signing at all costs.”