OPINION
Rafa Benitez must be desperate based on the fact Newcastle United outcast Achraf Lazaar is reportedly back in from the cold at the club.
The Chronicle reported on Monday that the 26-year-old left-back was set to return to action for the Magpies’ reserves against Fulham on Monday evening after not playing since July.
The newspaper claimed that with first-choice left-back Paul Dummett nursing an injury then Lazaar needed game time in order to get up speed as Benitez doesn’t have many options to play on the left-flank of his defence.
Lazaar wasn’t originally handed a shirt number for this season but according to the Chronicle, the 26-year-old has now been handed the No.57 shirt which shows that he is now likely seen as an option to play.
Even though he has a less than glamorous squad number.
While the left-back is probably the last resort, it does show that Benitez must be desperate to hand the defender a way back into his first-team after previously freezing him out.
Lazaar was so far out of the first-team picture previously that it nearly saw him head out of the doors of St James Park in the summer as the Chronicle’s report stated that a potential move to Italy to join Genoa fell through at the last minute.
Hopefully for the sake of the Magpies, who are yet to pick up a win this season, the defender if called into action is willing to defy expectations and grab his chance.
The left-back was previously woeful when featuring for the first-team and he has never featured for the club in the Premier League.
However while it’s debatable whether Lazaar can restore his future at St James Park, one thing is clear and that is that Benitez must be desperate to be opening the door slightly to him returning to the first-team fold.
