Newcastle United have released former Reading midfielder Jeff Hendrick, with the 32-year-old not featuring for the Magpies for almost three years.

Enjoying a successful career for clubs such as Derby County and Burnley, as well as 79 caps for the Republic of Ireland, the energetic midfielder moved to Tyneside in 2020 under Steve Bruce.

Featuring 23 times for the North-East giants in his debut campaign, the arrival of new Saudi owners and Eddie Howe saw the experienced campaigner deemed surplus to requirements, last wearing the black and white stripes against Manchester City in December 2021.

Spending the second part of 2021/22 on an unsuccessful loan spell at QPR, Paul Ince signed Hendrick for the Royals ahead of 2022/23.

The most-used player for the season, Hendrick scored four goals in 46 appearances in Berkshire but was unable to keep Reading in the Championship.

He spent last year on loan with Sheffield Wednesday, but again found game time hard to come by and featured only 12 times at Hillsborough.

Hendrick, along with long-serving duo Paul Dummett and Matt Ritchie, have been released by Howe as the Geordies eye more European qualification with substantial financial backing.