‘They’ll quite happily give him away’ - Newcastle journalist gives inside line on Celtic linked Ryan Fraser

Newcastle United and Scotland winger Ryan Fraser has been linked with a move to Celtic this summer as Brendan Rodgers looks to add more offensive options to his Hoops side.

The news has raised eyebrows amongst the Celtic support as the player, despite being hugely talented and definitely capable of making an impact for the Scottish champions, has had a career dogged by fall outs and reported attitude problems. Aberdeen fans were less than pleased when the then teenager left their club in January 2013 and his exit from Bournemouth in 2020 was even more acrimonious.

He managed to draw the ire of Scotland boss Steve Clarke in 2020 after pulling out of a national team squad and the past few months at St James’ Park have seen him completely frozen out of the first team picture and sent to train with the Under 21s. We’ve caught up with Jordan Cronin, who covers Newcastle United for our sister title NewcastleWorld, to shed some light on what exactly has happened between Fraser and Magpies boss Eddie Howe and how likely a switch to Celtic could be.

He said: “Ryan Fraser’s Newcastle United career has been over since about January time following a fallout with Eddie Howe. Howe has stayed reasonably tight-lipped in regards to the situation but what I do know is Fraser became extremely frustrated over his lack of game time having fallen behind the likes of Miguel Almiron, Jacob Murphy, Joelinton, Allan Saint-Maximin and then Anthony Gordon in the pecking order.

“Whatever has happened or been said must have really angered Howe. He isn’t the type of person to freeze out players and instead prefers to give them second, third and even fourth chances, so it speaks volumes that he sent Fraser to train with the under-21s. Again, In February, Howe questioned Fraser’s commitment when he said: Ryan’s training with the Under-21s. I made the decision to concentrate on players that are committed to Newcastle. For the benefit of the group, I’ve made that call.”

It would be fair to say that Fraser has had an up and down relationship with Howe as Jordan explains, discussing the winger’s ‘betrayal’ from their time together at Bournemouth.

He continued: “Until Howe arrived in November 2021, Fraser looked unfit and disinterested during his opening 12 months or so on Tyneside, though that was largely down to working under Steve Bruce, who he’s openly heavily criticised during interviews. I think Newcastle supporters appreciate Fraser’s role in helping keep the club in the Premier League in 21-22 but Howe is understandably golden boy, so once you upset him, there’s no going back.

“An eventual fallout between the pair hasn’t come as a total surprise. It’s worth noting that Fraser totally betrayed Howe at Bournemouth when he refused to sign a contract extension to play the remainder of the 19-20 Premier League season after it resumed during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Cherries were relegated.”

With so much baggage accompanying the player throughout his career it’s understandable that there has been a mixed response amongst the Celtic support to the transfer speculation. One thing does look certain though is that they probably won’t have to break the bank in order to bring him to Celtic Park.

“Newcastle will quite happily give Ryan Fraser away,” Jordan added. “They just want him gone and off the wage bill. English Championship clubs have shown interest in Fraser but his reported £70,000-a-week salary means it just isn’t viable for them. There’s a feeling that Fraser will need to take a wage cut, or that Newcastle will have to pay a percentage of his wages.”