According to Gazzetta Dello Sport (carried out by Sport Witness), Newcastle United are close to selling outcast Achraf Lazaar to Genoa.
While Rafael Benitez certainly did a wonderful job in guiding Newcastle United back into the Premier League at the first time of asking, it has to be said that some of the Spaniard’s signings last season were very questionable and the acquisition of Achraf Lazaar is certainly one of them.
Lazaar was signed by Benitez last summer from Palermo on a five year deal and the fans were excited to see how the Moroccan international would be able to acquit himself in the English game.
Bafflingly though, Lazaar was hardly handed any playing time whatsoever throughout the course of the campaign and the 25-year-old ended the season with only 36 minutes of Championship action under his belt.
Therefore, it goes without saying that Newcastle are looking to cut their losses on Lazaar by offloading him this summer and reports from Italy claim that the full-back is close to making a £3million return to the Serie A by joining Genoa.
Newcastle are desperately looking to lower their wage bill this summer in order to fund new signings and the departure of Lazaar will surely be welcomed by Benitez.