STEVE McCLAREN has told Mike Williamson and Yoan Gouffran they are surplus to requirements at St James’ Park and given the duo permission to find a new club.

Haris Vuckic and Gael Bigirimana are also set to leave Tyneside before the transfer window closes, with McClaren determined to trim some of Newcastle’s fringe players from the wage bill.

Neither Williamson nor Gouffran were part of the Magpies’ match-day squad for the opening game of the season against Southampton, and McClaren has concluded there is little chance of them being involved in the remainder of the campaign.

Williamson, who has one year remaining on his current deal, has made 169 appearances since joining Newcastle from Portsmouth in January 2010.

He was involved in the majority of the Magpies’ pre-season matches, but the arrival of Chancel Mbemba and the decision to retain Fabricio Coloccini has seen him tumble down the pecking order in the last couple of weeks.

An error-strewn pre-season display at Sheffield United hardly helped his cause, and with Newcastle’s recruitment team still hopeful of making another defensive addition before the transfer window closes, he is expected to attract considerable interest from the Championship as he looks to move on.

Brighton, who are managed by former Newcastle boss Chris Hughton, and Leeds United have already expressed an interest in securing his services.

The decision to dispense with Gouffran is more surprising, as the Frenchman was a key performer under Alan Pardew, who valued his work-rate and energy in an attacking-midfield position.

The 29-year-old, who moved to Newcastle two-and-a-half years ago in a £500,000 switch from Bordeaux, has scored 12 goals in 87 senior appearances, although five of those successes came in a two-month purple patch in the 2013-14 season.

Since then, he has struggled to reproduce anything close to his best form, and he only started one of the final seven games of last season.

His status has slipped further under McClaren, with the Newcastle head coach understood to be uncertain as to what the Frenchman’s best position is.

As a result, he will be allowed to move on in the final two-and-a-half weeks of the transfer window, with a return to his homeland regarded as a strong possibility.

Vuckic and Bigirimana have been excluded from the first-team picture on Tyneside for more than 18 months, and were both sent on loan to Rangers in the second half of last season.

Vuckic made 24 appearances for the Scottish Championship side, and would be willing to return to Ibrox if a suitable financial package could be agreed, while Bigirimana did not make a single appearance north of the border amid doubts over his fitness.

None of the four players will be involved in the squad for tomorrow’s Premier League game at Swansea City, but Vurnon Anita has been passed fit for the trip to the Liberty Stadium despite leaving the field on a stretcher during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Southampton.

Anita injured his back when he fell awkwardly in the second half, but the problem proved to be nothing more than serious than severe bruising and he has returned to full training ahead of Newcastle’s opening away game.

“He’s had a little bit of grief about that because it’s been a proper miraculous recovery,” joked assistant manager Paul Simpson. “Stretchered off on Sunday, and fit to train on Wednesday.

“It was a real concern at the time because he took a really heavy, awkward landing in his fall. I’m going to have to give credit to the medical team – they’ve laid their magic hands on him and he’s made a really good recovery.

“He joined in training – hopefully there’ll be no reaction from that, and we’ll have a clean bill of health going into the Swansea fixture.”

Remy Cabella and Paul Dummett have returned to training after thigh and hamstring injuries respectively, but neither player will be ready for tomorrow’s game.