Newcastle United attacker Henri Saivet has stated his desire to stay put at St. James’ Park despite being placed on the transfer list.
Rafael Benitez has made no secret of his desire to get rid of a host of players from his squad before the end of the summer transfer window and attacker Henri Saivet has been one of the players who has been made available for a transfer.
Saivet has struggled to make any sort of impact whatsoever since arriving to Newcastle from Bordeaux back in January 2016 for around £5million and it is clear to see that the Frenchman does not figure in the plans of Benitez this season.
The 26-year-old did however make an appearance for the Magpies during their 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat against Nottingham Forest earlier this week and following the game, he has surprisingly expressed his desire to stay put at Tyneside beyond the end of summer transfer window.
Saivet said, “I’m going to fight for the team, for the fans and for everybody. I want to play. But it depends only on me. I have to work hard to show the manager and other people that I can play.
“It was the game for us to show how we could progress. We have to keep going and not give up because the main thing everybody wants is to work. It wasn’t easy because I had not played since the friendly games. We tried to play for the team and the fans.”
Considering that Benitez does not rate Saivet very highly, it does look unlikely that he will be given opportunities this season and his departure from St. James’ Park would perhaps benefit everyone involved.