Newcastle United duo Jack Colback and Achraf Lazaar have both been demoted to the reserves for pre-season, according to the Chronicle.
The northern newspaper report that Colback who earns £40,000-a-week at the club was on loan at Nottingham Forest for the second-half of his 2017/18 campaign whereas Lazaar had a disappointing loan spell in Italy with Benevento.
The Chronicle report that both senior players are sweating regarding getting a place on the plane for next week’s pre-season trip to Ireland and that the pair could both possibly feature for the Magpies’ reserve team on Monday as they face Barrow.
OPINION
This is now two pre-seasons in a row where Colback and Lazaar have found themselves relegated to the reserves and it seems unlikely that their prospects at St James Park will improve anytime soon. While recruiting new players is clearly a priority for the club this summer, the Magpies must ensure they get Colback off their books. The central midfielder is on a huge wage considering he’s surplus to requirements and his departure would free up funds to splash on more useful players. Colback seem to enjoy his time at Forest with him featuring 16 times for them and it’s a shame that a deal with the Championship club hasn’t been wrapped up as of yet. It’s easy to presume that Colback’s £40,000-a-week pay packet could potentially be wrecking his chances of joining Forest as it’s likely a deal to join them would see him take a pay-cut. Lazaar doesn’t seem to have a club linked with him currently and the left-back knows that he must attract a suitor somehow if he wants to play regular football next season.
