Ghana winger, Christian Atsu, has officially left English Premier League side Newcastle United after his contract ended.
The 29-year-old first joined Newcastle on loan from Chelsea in 2016 and made the deal permanent in July 2017.
Atsu made 107 appearances for the Magpies and scored eight goals during his five-year stay at Tyneside but found game time difficult to come by in the just-ended English Premier League season.
Speaking about his departure from the club on Instagram, Atsu expressed gratitude to fans and staff of the club for making him feel welcome.
READ ALSO
He posted: “When I arrived in Newcastle almost five years ago, I was made to feel welcome from the start…by everyone at the club and especially by the fans. I grew to love the city and my young family feels very at home here.
“Sadly, the time has now come for me to leave the club, so I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who is part of the Newcastle Utd family. Thank you to the Toon Army fans, a lot of whom I’ve met around the city. I will never forget my time in the North East and for sure I will follow the results every week. Thank you my geordie staff, players & fans, it’s been a pleasure! ????.”
Atsu was left out of Newcastle’s 25-man Premier League squad at the start of the season, but then added back into it in January, following the exit of DeAndre Yedlin to Galatasaray.
However, Atsu was not called onto the bench once in the final months of the 2020/21 campaign, despite Bruce’s Magpies suffering an injury crisis with Callum Wilson, Allan Saint-Maximin, Joelinton, Miguel Almiron and Ryan Fraser all spending time out of the side.
Atsu has been linked with a transfer to Championship side Huddersfield Town.