OPINION
Achraf Lazaar’s slim chance of reviving his Newcastle United career has surely gone after the events of Monday and the writing on the wall must be clearer than ever for him.
While the Magpies were overcoming Burnley at Turf Moor with Rafa Benitez opting to modify his formation rather than choose an out-and-out left-back to cover for the loss of Paul Dummett, the 26-year-old fringe player was featuring for the U-23s.
Lazaar started Monday’s game with Stoke City’s U-23s and while his side won 3-2, it’s fair to say he shouldn’t have been celebrating the result.
The left-back, who has made 10 appearances for the senior side since joining in 2016, was unable to have any form of a positive impact before being subbed before the game ended.
Considering that Lazaar no doubt wishes to be regularly playing for the Magpies’ first team, then he should be standing out and excelling while featuring for the U-23s.
However the left-back on Monday clearly couldn’t even impress enough not to be hooked before the game finished.
The 26-year-old’s Magpies career has been in jeopardy for a while but he was handed a small chance of hope in October when he was actually allocated the No.57 shirt, as reported by the Chronicle, as it implied that there was a least a tiny bit of hope that Benitez could turn to him in desperation.
Yet given that Lazaar is continuing to struggle for the U-23s and the fact Benitez found a way to not remotely consider him with first-choice full-back Dummett out injured, then a swift January exit surely beckons for him.
The Spanish manager will now feel very confident due to his formation switch working against Burnley, that he can sanction the exit of Lazaar ahead of finding a replacement to bring to the club.
