OPINION
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez is about as blessed with quality centre halves as he has ever been in his reign at the club.
Jamaal Lascelles, Federico Fernandez, Fabian Schar, Florian Lejeune and Ciaran Clark are all available as options to the Spaniard moving forward and they are all proven talents with undoubted Premier League quality.
It’s the captain, though, who must make way in Premier League competition in order to accommodate the tantalising potential of a Fernandez-Lejeune partnership.
Fernandez, of course, was only signed from Swansea City this summer because of an injury to Lejeune, but the Argentine – up until recently when he’s missed time with a knock of his own – has arguably been the club’s best performer this season.
Lejeune, on the other hand, made his comeback against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and produced a sterling performance in what was a disappointing overall display for the Magpies.
The Frenchman certainly looked back to his best in that game as he dealt admirably with much of what Rovers threw at him, while bringing the ball out from the back well and showcasing his excellent passing ability.
Lascelles, meanwhile, is arguably experiencing the worst campaign of his Newcastle tenure. The 25-year-old, on a reported £40,000-per-week [Source: Spotrac], has looked nothing like the dominant figure who commanded calls for an England call-up last term.
From the word go he has been below his best this season. He had a few injury problems early on but he’s been fit for some time now. His performances, however, are yet to significantly improve.
Benitez must axe Lascelles moving forward in order to give his team the best chance of success. The fact is that a this moment in time Fernandez and Lejeune are the two best centre backs at the club.
Why not give those players the chance to see if they can strike up an effective partnership? Given both players’ performances thus far in a Newcastle shirt it’s unlikely that they’d fail.
Fernandez and Lejeune are possibly the future at centre back for the Magpies. Benitez needs to act before it’s too late this season.
