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Newcastle United defender withdraws from pre-season early - set for loan transfer exit Newcastle United transfers: One defender is set to leave the club this week. Newcastle United defender Alex Murphy left the pre-season training camp in Spain early to secure a loan move. Murphy trained with the Newcastle first-team squad under new head coach Matthias Jaissle in La Manga before leaving the camp prior to Saturday’s 2-1 friendly win against Valencia. It left the Magpies without a recognised left-back as Lewis Hall also left the camp early as Under-21s centre-back Miodrag Pivas was deployed in the role. While Hall’s withdrawal was fitness-related, Murphy’s was due to an upcoming transfer exit. Nick Pope was also left out of the matchday squad against Valencia having been made available to leave Newcastle. The Gazette has launched a WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our NUFC WhatsApp channel. As per the Daily Mail, Murphy is set to join 2.Bundesliga side FC Kaiserslautern on a season-long loan deal after undergoing a medical. Alex Murphy pushing for loan exit The 22-year-old spent the majority of last season for Newcastle as an unused substitute, making just six appearances in total. He did, however, start the Champions League knockout round play-off match against Qarabag at St James’ Park back in February. Murphy has captained the Republic of Ireland at Under-21s level and was even handed a senior call-up at the back end of last season but didn’t get on the pitch to earn a senior cap. The defender remained part of Newcastle’s first-team squad last season due to the demanding fixture schedule across all competitions paired with the club’s fitness issues in defence. Murphy spoke openly about wanting to go out on loan in January, but that was ultimately blocked due to a lack of options in his position. "If it was my choice, I’d be somewhere else playing games but it’s not always down to you," Murphy told the Irish Examiner last season. "You must accept that, keep doing what you’re doing and hopefully the chance will come. "It’s good to say that you’re a Premier League player and be in the squads every week, but as a player you want to play in games. Any player would be fuming to be on the bench for every game. It’s nice for a while but does wear off. "I’m delighted to be at Newcastle United, have no complaints about being there. It’s just wanting to play." Previous loan spell Murphy previously spent time on loan at Bolton Wanderers in League One during the 2024/25 season, scoring twice in 13 appearances. He will now be hoping his move over to Germany will be an important step in his career as he looks to get regular first-team football. Murphy is under contract at Newcastle until 2028, but has made just one start and seven substitute appearances since joining the club from Galway United in 2022. Since leaving the Irish side as a teenager, Murphy is now 22 with just 21 games of first-team senior football under his belt, the majority of which have been as a substitute. His exit also paves the way for a likely full-back addition given Newcastle’s current lack of options in the area. Tino Livramento has been out injured all of pre-season and is a doubt to start the new season while Lewis Miley, who displayed good versatility to slot in at right-back last season, is also facing a race to be fit for the opening weekend.