Babayaro flies Magpies' nest
Celestine Babayaro's appearances for Newcastle have been limited by a number of injuries
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Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce admitted he felt a sense of relief after his team's 2-1 win over Birmingham at St James Park today. |  |
Monday, 10, Dec 2007 03:05
Newcastle United have agreed to buy out the contract of injury-plagued full-back Celestine Babayaro and release him with immediate effect.
The former Nigerian international, who has made just 47 league appearances for the club in almost three years, was due to be out of contract at the end of this season.
However the club and the player have agreed a deal that sees Babayaro's contract paid up and he is free to seek employment elsewhere.
The 29-year-old last appeared for the Magpies in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at Eastlands on March 31st and suffered a hamstring injury in the match.
This ongoing problem, coupled with a back injury and other minor ailments, means Babayaro has not been able to play under new manager Sam Allardyce, who took over from Glenn Roeder in the summer.
Babayaro originally signed for the St James' Park outfit in January 2005 from Chelsea in a deal worth £1 million as then manager Graeme Sounness looked to strengthen Newcastle's notoriously leaky back four.
However the left-back struggled for consistent form as he suffered a succession of injuries and is now preparing to search for a new club.