OPINION
Newcastle United will soon rue the day they discarded winger Yasin Ben El-Mhanni as the reported race to sign him takes a new twist which could soon see him featuring in the Europa League.
The Sun reported on Saturday that Belgian giants Standard Liege had joined the race for his services as he is available on a free transfer after the Magpies opted to not hand him a new contract in the summer.
The newspaper claimed that Liege had swooped in to make contact with the player despite him having been locked in talks with Royal Antwerp.
The Belgian club regularly find themselves competing in European competitions and if they successfully snap up El-Mhanni’s services then he too could soon find himself playing in prestigious tournaments.
Given that the 22-year-old tricky winger didn’t get to fully demonstrated his talents while at the Magpies as he managed to only feature twice for the senior side, it’s easy to see the club missed a trick with him.
El-Mhanni showed a lot promise at the Magpies after jumping from Non-League Lewes but didn’t see his development flourish and that might not have been his fault.
The promising winger ended up having to file a complaint, as stated by The Sun, against U-23 coach Peter Beardsley relating to bullying and racism, which shows the additional problems he had to deal with when at the club.
Given that the Magpies didn’t really benefit at all from have a talented prospect like El-Mhanni on their books then it’s very likely they’re going to rue the day as he’ll ends up proving that he’s the real deal at his new club.
Especially if that side turn out to be Standard Liege, who are once again in the Europa League this season, as the winger could end up impressing on a notable stage.
Therefore following the reported twist in the hunt for El-Mhanni’s services, the Magpies are destined to soon rue the day they carelessly discarded the winger who could still take football by storm.
