Newcastle Utd News

Benitez outcast keen to prove his worth to Newcastle following Spaniard’s axe – report

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Achraf Lazaar was outcasted from the Newcastle first-team by Rafa Benitez, and sent on loan to the Serie B with Benevento Calcio, shunned to our Under 23s, and then sent to the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday. Now that the Spaniard has departed, though, the 27-year-old Moroccan is keen to prove his worth to United.

Speaking with Calciomercato.it, the 17-cap former international left-back stated categorically that his only aspirations for the new campaign are to earn a place for himself at St James’ Park, even if a potential move away from Tyneside could emerge.

A new manager may see something in Lazaar that Benitez ignored, but the Varese Calcio product has done nothing in his loan moves to demonstrate that he is getting his career back on track and thus deserves another chance on Tyneside.

A potential return to Italy has been muted, but Lazaar has no plans to accept any proposals despite concrete interest from Genoa.

“I have finished the holidays, [and] now I go back to Newcastle,” he said. “In the coming days, I will start training for the new season.

“Will I go back to Italy? Now there is nothing. I think only of Newcastle. Genoa? There was a concrete interest, but [that was] in the past.”

Having signed for Newcastle in 2016, Lazaar has made just ten first-team appearances for the Magpies and was shunned to the Under 23s by Benitez, before joining Sheffield Wednesday for the latter half of the 2018/19 season, with whom he made just four appearances.

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