It was revealed yesterday that Achraf Lazaar’s loan pell with Serie A side Benevento was all but over, with their new manager being left unimpressed by the Moroccan – a feeling most NUFC fans now share.
The left-back arrived from Palermo in the summer of 2016 and seemed a coup for the club at the time, with him admitting that he chose NUFC and Benitez over a move to Fiorentina – a side regularly featuring in Italy’s top 6.
A few years on and not only has he only mustered a handful of appearances for Newcastle, failing to convince Benitez he’s good enough for the Championship, he’s now been deemed not good enough for a side rock bottom of Serie A.
Benevento have frozen him out of their 35-man squad to make room for free agent signing Bacary Sagna, with new boss Roberto De Zerbia said to have been unimpressed by his fitness levels in particular.
In light of this, Newcastle have had their say on the matter, with the Moroccan set to now face 4 months on the sidelines before returning to pre-season training on Tyneside this summer:
I remember Rafa getting pelters on here last season for playing Paul Dummett ahead of him. Will people eve learn!? #NUFC
— NUFC 360 (@NUFC360) February 21, 2018
Also just need to casually mention something slightly off topic. Achraf Lazaar doesn’t get into the FUCKING BENEVENTO TEAM.#nufc
— el Danilo. ⚫️⚪️ (@DoctorCookeh) January 31, 2018