STEVE McCLAREN continues to regard Siem de Jong as an integral member of his Newcastle United squad, and is adamant the Dutch midfielder will not be leaving Tyneside.

De Jong has suffered a frustrating start to the season, with his failure to make a single Premier League start highlighting his inability to force his way into McClaren’s first-team plans.

The 26-year-old, who captained Ajax prior to moving to St James’ Park almost 18 months ago, cut a frustrated figure as he was an unused substitute at Bournemouth last weekend and hinted he would be willing to leave Newcastle when he spoke to the Dutch media earlier this week.

“If things don’t go my way, a return to Holland is certainly an option,” said de Jong. “I have always loved life in my own country.”

McClaren is aware of de Jong’s comments, and accepts the attacking midfielder is bound to be frustrated given his lack of action over the last year-and-a-half.

However, after a serious thigh injury and a collapsed lung wrecked his first season with the Magpies, de Jong is still playing catch up in terms of his overall fitness levels compared to the rest of the squad.

He has also had limited opportunities to get to grips with the pace and physicality of the Premier League, and while his technical abilities are not in question, there is perhaps a sense that he needs to be playing in a side that is dominating possession and seeing plenty of the ball.

Newcastle do not really fit that bill at the moment, and with Ayoze Perez and Georginio Wijnaldum both boasting a superior work rate, de Jong has found himself frozen out of the first-team picture.

McClaren does not expect that scenario to exist forever, however, and has moved quickly to rule out any possibility of de Jong returning to the Eredivisie when the transfer window reopens at the start of January.

“His attitude is fantastic, and we don’t want to let him go anywhere,” said the Newcastle head coach. “We see him as a big player for us.

“We speak regularly, and Siem’s one of those players who is adjusting to the Premier League. He didn’t have that adjustment last year, so he’s adjusting this year and he’s been a little bit unlucky.

“He’s a vital part of the squad, and someone we think will eventually get in the team. At the moment, he’s an impact player, and we want him to come on and win a game for us.

“He can keep possession – he’s that good a player and that’s a big part of his game – but I think he’s suffering from being a year out.”

De Jong’s struggles with Newcastle mean he is not involved in the Holland squad for tomorrow’s friendly with Wales – Daryl Janmaat and Wijnaldum are both included – and the international agenda has been dominating discussions on Tyneside in the last few days.

Rob Elliot’s position has been especially delicate, and Martin O’Neill yesterday conceded that the goalkeeper will not be involved in the first leg of the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2016 play-off with Bosnia.

Elliot was at Newcastle’s training ground yesterday, and the Magpies will continue to have open dialogue with Republic of Ireland officials with regard to the second leg of the game at Dublin next week.

Despite struggling with an ongoing thigh problem, Elliot, who was Newcastle’s match winner at Bournemouth last weekend, has not been formally withdrawn from international duty because of injury.

McClaren has spoken personally with Ireland manager Martin O’Neill on a number of occasions this week, and the pair agreed that Elliot would not be required to travel to Sarajevo for tomorrow’s game.

However, they will discuss the position again over the weekend, and it is still possible that Elliot could join up with the rest of the Ireland squad in Dublin if David Forde, Darren Randolph or Keiren Westwood suffer an injury or suspension in Bosnia.

“In essence, we will be travelling without him to Bosnia,” said O’Neill, who will also be without Sunderland defender John O’Shea for tomorrow’s game because of a suspension.

Elliot’s training programme between matches has been restricted for quite a while, but the 29-year-old is expected to be available for Newcastle’s next Premier League game against Leicester City on November 21.

Freddie Woodman remains the Magpies’ only alternative to the Irishman, although Karl Darlow will step up his training programme next week and should be available in a couple of weeks’ time.

“Karl’s been out on the field, and we’re expecting him to start taking part in training next week,” said McClaren.