OPINION
Newcastle United must attempt to force Achraf Lazaar out of the club in the January transfer window with him completely out of the reckoning at the moment.
Lazaar, 26, has not made a single appearance in the first team this season and has been limited to just two outings for the club’s Under-23s when he played twice in Premier League 2 in October.
Even though Rafa Benitez is short of options at left-back, Lazaar is still nowhere to be seen and it is about time that the Magpies finally get rid of the Morocco international when the transfer window re-opens in January.
For a player who has made just 10 appearances in over two years on Tyneside, Lazaar has been a massive waste of Mike Ashley’s resources.
The controversial Newcastle owner is tight with his cash anyway and it mus enrage him that £470,000 [Spotrac] is wasted on the left-back each year.
At the end of the season, Lazaar will still have another two years left on his deal at St James’ Park, and even though he is not playing, for whatever reason, he believes that he could be one day judging by quotes transcribed by Calcio Mercato last month.
“It’s not a good moment for me, I arrived at Newcastle to show what I can do and to improve but things are going differently. Honestly, I am very sorry but I accept this situation, I am training with the second team and I play in the reserve championship.
“Sometimes I train on my own after the end of training sessions to improve my level, that’s the only thing I can do if I want to improve because I am not playing Premier League games.”
“I spoke with my team-mates, they say he (Benitez) is fine (with the situation). I am sorry the team is not doing well especially because a lot of my team-mates would like me to be part of the team. I usually speak with them but the only thing I can do is accept the situation.”
Lazaar is completely deluded if he believes that he still has a chance of breaking into Benitez’s first team plans.
He can train as well as he wants but there is obviously something in Benitez’s head that is stopping the Moroccan from getting anywhere near to his matchday squads in the Premier League.
The 26-year-old barely played in the Championship and failed miserably on loan at Benevento in Serie A last season.
There is no way back for Lazaar now and the Magpies just need to cut their losses on the left-back and get rid of him as soon as they possibly can.