The transfer window slams shut on Friday but there are still four players who could depart Newcastle United, according to the Chronicle.
The newspaper’s live blog [8.05am] report that fringe figures such as Freddie Woodman, Sean Longstaff, Jamie Sterry and Achraf Lazaar are touted to leave the club this summer, despite there only being a few days left of the transfer window.
Goalkeeper Woodman has interest from the Scottish Premier League, and it looks likely that the Magpies will offload him in order to give him the first team experience he needs – something which he is not likely to get under boss Rafa Benitez at the moment.
However, it looks like the Spaniard may decide to keep Longstaff at St James’ Park after he made the match day squad for Sunday’s clash against Chelsea.
OPINION
It comes to no surprise that Woodman may be binned in this transfer window, as his first game opportunities are incredibly limited now that Martin Dubravka is the club’s number one. As for defender Jamie Sterry, even though he has impressed for the under-23 side, he still could not make it into Benitez’ first team squad for the Chelsea game. He is definitely a player that should be retained, as he has displayed the potential to be a great player for Benitez – however, he has already attracted interest from League One, so it remains to be seen whether Newcastle will act upon that interest by Friday. Lazaar has not attracted any interest since his move to Genoa fell through, and he may be the player that Newcastle want to offload the most out of the four. He has only made a handful of appearances since he arrived at the club, so the prospect of him leaving is not really going to worry the fans too much. Nevertheless, keeping the likes of Sterry and Longstaff are a must, as they could prove pivotal if there are any absences this season.
