NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 30: Newcastle player DeAndre Yedlin in action during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Liverpool at St. James Park on December 30, 2020 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
According to Chronicle Live, DeAndre Yedlin has been linked with an exit from Newcastle. Turkish side Trabzonspor have shown interest in him and want to sign him on a free transfer. Yedlin’s contract is set to expire at the end of this season.
DeAndre Yedlin started his professional career with Seattle Sounders in the Major League Soccer, featuring 69 times for his boyhood club in all competitions across two seasons. The full-back’s impressive displays paved the way for a switch to the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2014.
The 27-year-old joined Spurs in January 2015 after seeing out the MLS season with Seattle but he struggled to break into the first-team and was loaned out to Sunderland in the summer. Yedlin enjoyed an impressive debut season in the English top-flight with the Black Cats before signing a permanent deal with Newcastle.
Yedlin featured regularly en route to the club’s promotion-winning campaign in the second-tier during the 2016-17 season. He retained his status as a first-team regular in the PL under Rafael Benitez. However, the United States international slipped down the pecking order under Steve Bruce last season, starting only 10 league fixtures.
DeAndre Yedlin was widely regarded as an exciting prospect during his younger days in the United States. His brief stint in the MLS with Seattle Sounders clearly outlined his potential. He did enough to catch the eye in his homeland and earn himself a move to the Premier League. But it goes without saying that the 27-year-old’s tenure in English football hasn’t been a grand success.
Having failed to make the grade at Tottenham, Yedlin was offered an escape route by Newcastle United in 2016. He did manage to make a big impression in the Championship but hasn’t managed to hit the same heights in the Premier League.
The United States international has managed meagre returns of 2 goals and 4 assists in 79 top-flight appearances for the Magpies. Those figures clearly don’t make for impressive readings on paper when you consider that Yedlin is an attacking full-back capable of contributing to the attack.
Former manager Benitez showed a lot of faith in Yedlin’s abilities but his fortunes at St.James’ Park have gone downhill following the appointment of Bruce. The 27-year-old missed several games due to injuries last season, with the manager preferring the likes of Javier Manquillo and Emil Krafth.
Manquillo was handed a start at right-back in Newcastle’s 2-0 win over West Ham on the opening day of the 2020-21 season, with Krafth on the bench as his deputy.
Yedlin didn’t even make the squad, which is a clear indication of his dwindling stocks at the club. Considering the Magpies have enough depth at right-back and that Steve Bruce is keen on new arrivals, letting go of Yedlin would be for the best.