OPINION
There’s no doubt that finding a buyer would be difficult, but Newcastle United really need to be trying to sell out of favour duo Rolando Aarons and Achraf Lazaar.
Neither man has a future at the club and it’s best for everyone involved that they leave permanently. Friday’s report from the Chronicle that manager Rafael Benitez is preparing to loan the duo out in January, then, is rather disconcerting.
Again, that might be the only way the Magpies can get the pair out of Tyneside, but surely Benitez would rather permanently kick the two players to the curb than have them periodically return from unsuccessful loan spells?
Both players have endured disappointing temporary moves away from Newcastle in recent seasons and it’s clear that continually shipping them out on loan only provides a momentary solution to an internecine headache.
The two players must be sold, that’s it, there’s no other way to slice it. At this point, even releasing the two men would surely be preferable to continuing to pay them for doing essentially nothing.
But if Newcastle can somehow find someone willing to stump up the cash for either man it would provide Benitez with a nice little boost to his transfer kitty – and with Mike Ashley in charge the Spaniard needs every extra penny he can get.
It doesn’t do to keep farming players out when you know they’re never going to make the grade at the club. All it does is delay and that’s doing no one any good at this point.
We know there is interest in the players. The Chronicle’s report stated that Lazaar was on the verge of a loan switch to Serie A side Genoa in the summer, while Aarons has just returned from a loan spell with Slovan Liberec.
Bizarrely there is a market – albeit an obscure one in Aaarons’ case – for these players. Footballers can always find someone willing to take a punt on them, and it’s clear that both men need a new permanent home.
Loan moves away are just pointless at this point. Benitez needs to realise that it’s in his best interest, as well as the players’, to get Aarons and Lazaar away from St James’ Park for good.