Some Newcastle United fans have all been left pondering what could have been next season after Newcastle confirmed the permanent departure of Chancel Mbemba.
The defender has joined Portuguese side FC Porto for an undisclosed fee on a four-year contract, with the Magpies announcing the 23-year-old’s departure on their official Twitter account and official website.
Chancel Mbemba has completed a permanent move to @FCPorto. Good luck, @mbemba22!
?? https://t.co/1xF4A84OMd #NUFC pic.twitter.com/Y9iJUHXH4R
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) July 23, 2018
The Congolese centre-half, who earned a reported £35,000-a-week at St. James Park (Spotrac), ends a three-year spell at the club after making 59 appearances in total for the Toon.
Many fans were left saying the same thing, insisting that he would have been a good player for next season and that he had a lot of potential.
This is Futbol have rounded up the best tweets from a section of Toon fans on the sale of Mbemba:
Would have been a good player for us next season in my eyes!
— Anthony Hardy (@Anth_Hardy11) July 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/BenMancebo/status/1021432549539753985
https://twitter.com/agbnufc/status/1021434989664235520
https://twitter.com/stevenslack2/status/1021439857787375617
Class player, wasted.
— Chris Kelly ? (@ckay1984) July 23, 2018
Sorry to see @mbemba22 leave…
— Linzi Quinn (@Given1) July 23, 2018
Real pity, if he had made more of an effort he could have been special here
— Choseph Runton (@MastrContender) July 23, 2018
Deserved to Play more
— Owen (@AzzaJay98) July 23, 2018
OPINION
It’s clear that the fans think Mbemba had what it takes to be a Newcastle player and that they are sad to see the defender leave the club. They’re right, the 23-year-old had the ability to be a top central defender and as he’s still very young, he still had a lot of time to improve his game and work on the things that he wasn’t so good at. He was never given a genuine chance to secure his first-team place in the side, with other more reliable defenders preferred instead of letting him develop with regular football. However, football is a cruel game that is all about results, and managers can’t afford to give young players chances to the detriment of their managerial position. He will be a top player in years to come, even if he isn’t right now.