‘We think he is very close ...’

Chairman of Jamaica’s Football Federation Technical Committee, Rudolph Speid, has confirmed that the local federation is seeking to add highly rated Newcastle United defensive midfielder Isaac Hayden to the Reggae Boyz squad.

“We are pursuing him but at the end of the day it’s the coach’s decision,” Speid told The Gleaner yesterday. “We think he’s very close but nothing is done, until it’s done. That’s how I look at it, but again it’s very close,” he added.

The 29-year-old Hayden, who has fallen out of favour with current manager Eddie Howe, spent last season on loan playing at Belgian club Standard Liege and also at Queen’s Park Rangers. He qualifies to represent Jamaica through his father and has represented England at the under-16 through to the under-21 levels but has failed to secure a senior team call-up, to date. The midfielder started his senior playing career at Arsenal where he spent three seasons, 2013-2016, and during an interview last year with England-based journalists stated that he wouldn’t feel guilty switching allegiance to Jamaica.

“I don’t see myself as an opportunist getting selected for Jamaica,” he stated.

According to Speid, this move simply ties into the sole purpose of Stephen McClaren’s recent appointment, which is to garner the best talents available in order to secure qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“The senior team is one team that we don’t interfere with. It’s in his contract that he can pick whoever he wants, just get the results. That is exactly what we brought the coach for and anybody that plays for Jamaica will be coach’s decision,” he stated.

Speid added that since McClaren’s arrival the team has become a better ball-handling team, and the impact of the former Manchester United assistant coach is being reflected in the recent Reggae Boyz matches.

“You can see that we’ve become more confident on the ball and we are having more possession. We are getting the results, we recently finished top of the table in the Concacaf Nations League, qualified for the Gold Cup and that’s the most we can ask for at this point,” Speid said.

The JFF is also pursuing top-rated England-born forward Mason Greenwood of French club Marseille but Speid explained that the situation is ‘complex’.

“We’re still trying to get him to come but things are complex and not easy to get across the line. No deal is a deal until it’s totally completed but we’re keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best,” he shared.

Greenwood, a former Manchester United star, played once for the England senior team in 2020. He was slapped with several charges in 2022 after his girlfriend accused him of assault, but all the charges were dropped in February 2023.