OPINION
‘At least they didn’t pay money for him’ – that’s probably what every Newcastle United fan is thinking in regards to the club’s loan signing of left back Antonio Barreca in January.
Still, the pure waste of wages the deal represents is enough to have plenty of fans seething. Their anger would be understandable considering the virtual nonentity the Italian has been ever since he arrived on Tyneside.
The warning signs were there with the 23-year-old. This is a player whose finest form as a professional came as part of a Cittadella side that was relegated from Serie B in 2014-15. Furthermore, he was deemed not good enough for a Ligue 1 relegation fight by two different Monaco managers in Leonardo Jardim and Thierry Henry.
Was someone with that sort of track record really going to come in and challenge the likes of Matt Ritchie, Paul Dummett and Ciaran Clark on the left hand side of the defence? Absolutely not.
It now appears that he has no future with the Magpies, hardly surprising given his lack of progress since joining the club. The Chronicle’s Chris Waugh claimed during a Q & A on Wednesday that it is almost certain that Barreca’s loan deal will not be turned into a permanent transfer.
That is 100% the right decision, and there would likely be a riot if the club went ahead and did purchase the anonymous left back this summer.
Simply put, his signing has been a complete and utter waste of time. All he has done is take wages that could have been used on a loan signing who could have actually contributed down the stretch this season.
No, there’s unlikely to be any Newcastle supporters shedding tears when he returns to the principality in a few months time.
