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The midfielder has had his say on whether he's likely to come back to Fratton Park for the 2025/26 campaign

Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden has ruled out a return to Portsmouth next season following the end of his loan spell at Fratton Park.

As far as this season goes for Pompey, it was very much mission complete. Any supporter would have absolutely taken finishing five points clear of safety in 16th, especially after the horrid start to the campaign that they made.

Their financial struggles have been spoken about to great lengths - thankfully, for them, the budget is expected to be bigger next time around - but they did well with what they had to make additions in January to put together a team that would be able to beat the drop, one of those being Hayden.

The 30-year-old Jamaican international made 17 league appearances for John Mousinho's side after arriving from Newcastle in the winter. Both parties got what they wanted from the deal. His experience came in very handy for Portsmouth and they gave him some well-needed minutes, but Hayden has stated that the half-season he spent with the club will likely be his last.

Isaac Hayden reveals his thoughts on a Portsmouth return

Hayden has played down any potential of a return to Fratton Park in the coming months.

"When I came to the club initially it was a 'you help me and I’ll help you situation'. I don’t think there’s anything more than that," the loanee said, via The News.

"I think financially it’s a little bit of a difficult conversation and also when I spoke to people at the end of January when I signed, the situation was the club want to go in a younger direction. I don’t think they want to go with players who are my age and above.

"So it’s one of those where they gave me the games and the platform to play, I’ve played, done well and we’ve stayed up - everyone’s a winner.

"I knew already for a while it was going to be a situation like that, and they were the circumstances I was coming here under.

"I’m now going into a situation off the back of some games, some good games, and I can now go into the summer and international football in a good space."

Hayden also spoke of some frustration that he felt when he wasn't being used by Mousinho, which may well have played into his thinking regarding a potential Fratton Park return, but he added that he will have fond memories of playing on the south coast.

Adding EFL experience must be Portsmouth's goal this summer

Looking back on the business that Pompey have done over the past 12 months, the majority of their effective acquisitions have been players who are well-versed in English football, specifically the EFL. Josh Murphy was undoubtedly their best signing. He had previously spent time in the second tier and had just had a very strong campaign in League One before joining the club.

The likes of Hayden, Rob Atkinson, who Portsmouth want to re-sign, Andre Dozzell and Matt Ritchie helped Mousinho out a lot more than the Elias Sorensen's and Mark O'Mahony's of the world who didn't have much, if any, prior exposure to the EFL before being signed by Pompey.