In an interview with Sky Sports, Valentino Lazaro has insisted he made the right decision to join Newcastle over RB Leipzig.
This comes from his chat with Keith Downie at the club’s training ground, with the North-East reporter also revealing that the Inter Milan loanee is in contention to make his full debut at the Emirates on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Downie also reveals that the Austrian ‘accepts he has a responsibility to help get NUFC further up the pitch’ – suggesting he’ll be looking to have a Jetro Willems-esque impact from right wing-back between now and the end of the season:
With Manquillo still out, Yedlin struggling badly with his final ball in the last two and Emil Krafth looking unnatural at wing-back when we’ve seen him, Lazaro could be a real upgrade at right wing-back for Bruce.
We’ve only seen him play 40 minutes so far, but he impressed in that short cameo against Norwich the weekend before last, looking calm on the ball, playing a few nice passes down the line and generally seeming much more assured than the erratic Yedlin.
After a difficult spell in Italy following a £20m move from Hertha Berlin, let’s hope the 23-year-old can reignite his career in a black and white shirt – starting at Arsenal this Sunday!