Rafael Benitez has hinted that there may still be a Newcastle United future for fringe player Rolando Aarons, despite his loan move to Czech side Slovan Liberec.
The 22-year-old swapped Tyneside for the Czech Republic last week, with many prognosticators assuming that the winger’s time at the club was essentially over.
However, Benitez has suggested that may not be the case: “When you analyse his position, we have Kenedy doing as well as he was last season, you still have Atsu, Ritchie and Murphy too, so to have a young player like Rolando he was not playing too much, afterwards he was injured,” he told the Chronicle.
“He needs to play, he needs to prove to himself and to everyone he is a good player for the future. He has the potential. He need a little consistency, he needs to play games in a row and that is the key for his confidence. He has played a couple of games, then on the bench, he needs to play.”
OPINION
Everything Benitez is saying makes sense. It was clear that Aarons wasn’t in his plans this season so it was best for the young man to go out and get some regular football, even if it is in the Czech Republic. It seemed like the Magpies boss simply didn’t fancy Aarons, but perhaps that isn’t the case. His comment that Aarons has potential and needs to show that he is a good player for the future suggests that the Spaniard does actually rate the 22-year-old. If Aarons can stay fit and make the most of his loan move then there’s no reason why he can’t come back to St James’s Park and be a success. As Benitez says, they have a few wingers at the moment, but none of them are playing particularly well so if Aarons has a good season then he should be able to come back into the team next year. We’ll have to wait and see how this one works out for the young man.
