Reviewing Jonas Gutierrez's Time at Newcastle United

After five years as a Newcastle United player, Jonas Gutierrez has left St James’ Park and joined Norwich City on a six-month loan deal.

The Argentine will link up with former manager Chris Hughton at Carrow Road after falling out of favour on Tyneside.

It is understood that had the winger played one more game from now until the end of the season, he would have been entitled to a new contract, something the Club did not want to commit to.

The clause explains the sudden end to Gutierrez’s involvement in the squad and also goes some way to explaining why he was given weeks off to return to Argentina for “personal reasons.”

Jonas certainly had his highlights on Tyneside, most of all when the famous Spiderman mask made appearances when Gutierrez netted a rare St James’ Park goal.

Signing from Mallorca in 2008, Gutierrez joined at the same time as current Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini and has made 177 appearances for Newcastle so far.

He was part of the squad that decided to stay and help Newcastle get promoted back to the Premier League in 2010, when many would have forgiven him for wanting to pack up and head back to sunny Spain. He was excellent too, turning in plenty of eye-catching performances as the Magpies returned to the top flight instantly.

The partnership he formed with Jose Enrique on the left flank gave the Magpies a serious weapon, and they used it to good effect as they re-established themselves as a Premier League club. 

However, in the last two seasons, his form has certainly diminished, and although his work rate remains exemplary, his dribbling and final product has seen him slip down the pecking order.

With Enrique now at Liverpool, Gutierrez's place has gradually slipped away, and now the likes of Yoan Gouffran, Hatem Ben Arfa and Sylvain Marveaux are ahead of him in the Toon pecking order.

We may not have seen the last of Gutierrez in a Newcastle shirt, as he still has a year and a half remaining on his current deal. The most likely outcome after the loan to Norwich is a permanent move somewhere though; perhaps back to Spain, where he signed from Mallorca, or to native Argentina, where he is bound to have suitors.