Newcastle United’s Mohamed Diame is out of contract this summer.
Newcastle United are back in action this weekend, as they host Everton at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Magpies lost at West Ham United last weekend, and will be looking to get back to winning ways having previously seen off Huddersfield Town and Burnley at home.
However, Rafael Benitez will have to do it without the injured Sean Longstaff, with the talented young midfielder set to miss the game having suffered a knee injury at West Ham.
Ki Sung-yueng could be an option to replace him alongside Isaac Hayden in midfield, but the team selection could drop a major hint about Mohamed Diame’s future on Tyneside.
31-year-old Diame is out of contract this summer, and The Chronicle report that a one-year extension will be triggered if he starts three more games before the end of the season.
There are just nine games to go, and the Senegalese ace is running out of games to extend that stay, so Benitez’s team selection may just indicate which Diame’s future is going.
If he starts, it’s fair to assume that Newcastle want to keep Diame at the club, taking him close to that one-year extension. Yet if he’s left on the bench in favour of Ki, it may just suggest that Diame may be let go.
Benitez may well prefer to keep Diame, but the situation with Diame is clear; he needs to start games or Newcastle will have to negotiate a new deal, which may be seen as more difficult if they’re letting his deal run out without the extension begin triggered.
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