OPINION
Rafa Benitez’s summer as Newcastle United manager just got a whole lot harder after Florian Lejeune suffered a serious knee injury that is set to put him out of action for much of the 2018/19 season.
As reported by the Chronicle, Lejeune has sustained damage to his cruciate ligament is now set to undergo an operation to fix the issue.
While no timeframe has been given on his return, it is likely that the 27-year-old Frenchman will be missing until January at the earliest.
The regional newspaper further report that Benitez has now launched a hunt for another centre-back following the blow, with the club already having signed Fabian Schar from Deportivo La Coruna.
While this is an understandable move for Benitez to make, he instead must look slightly outside the box in his solution to this problem.
As reported by the Bristol Post (11:20), the Magpies are in the running to sign Bristol City left-back Joe Bryan this summer, but are so far unwilling to stump up the £6million asking price.
This must now change, with the 24-year-old Bryan offering a left field solution to the club’s perceived shortage in the middle of defence.
The Bristol flyer would replace Paul Dummett in the Magpies first-team, with Bryan offering far more on the left flank than the Welshman does.
That would free up Dummett to provide cover for Lejeune at centre-back, with the 26-year-old having performed admirably for the club in that position before.
This solution allows Benitez the cover he needs in the centre while also bringing in a wing-back, which is a position he has wanted to strengthen this summer.
It also means that he will not be left with an additional centre-back in his squad when Lejeune returns from injury at some point next season.
With around £20million on the way from the sale of Aleksandar Mitrovic, there is little doubt that Newcastle can now afford to pay that modest £6million fee for Bryan.
This is what Benitez must do in the coming days as there are several other clubs also in the hunt for Bryan’s signature, meaning time is of the essence as we approach deadline day.
