OPINION
It is safe to say that Newcastle United defender Achraf Lazaar has not been taken into the hearts of supporters since his arrival.
Why would they have? He has hardly featured in the Premier League, and when he was relegated to the reserves, he did not even make a lasting impression on anyone.
That is why the fans will be baffled as to why the rarely-seen player is not on the fringes of the first team and could be in line for a start on Monday in the place of the injured Paul Dummett.
However, it is his comments that will leave fans completely baffled.
“I’m honest: I signed for Newcastle and I expect to be taken into consideration,” the fringe player told Tutto Mercato Web.
The one word that will stand out to most United fans is “expect” – how on earth could he expect to be in consideration when he has not been up to scratch in the slightest?
Rafa Benitez is a manager of deep knowledge and expertise, so you would hope that he recognises the fact that Lazaar is not worth anybody’s time.
The fact that he is even being considered will be beyond any supporter, but some would argue that Benitez does not have much choice at the moment, particularly as the club are painfully thin when it comes to left-back cover.
Even though he has been criticised in the past, Javier Manquillo must start ahead of Lazaar on Monday, as he is just an accident waiting to happen.
Newcastle have begun to get things back on track, so starting a player unfamiliar with Premier League territory is not the way to maintain that.
United have every chance of getting all three points against Burnley, but Lazaar would be run ragged if he were to somehow get into the starting XI – and it is not likely that the Clarets’ attackers would fear coming up against him, is it?
