Newcastle United’s coaches have been testing out playing with four at the back in training as they ponder a tactical switch for the clash against Leicester City on Friday night, according to the Chronicle.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Magpies’ backroom staff have been experimenting with a more traditional back line in what would be a change from the three centre backs which has been Rafael Benitez’s preferred tactic in recent months.
The fascinating reveal comes after Newcastle lost Florian Lejeune to injury for the rest of the season, and state a lack of ball playing centre back could twist Benitez’s arm to change things up.
Opinion
This just goes to show how highly thought of Lejeune is among the Newcastle squad and backroom staff. His abilities are seemingly irreplaceable by anyone currently in the Magpies’ first team and so Benitez is having to consider changing everything just because he will be missing for the rest of the campaign. With a number of centre backs at the club, a move to two at the back only increases the competition for places, although it will likely work out well for Jamaal Lascelles, who has struggled to operate in a back three in recent games. It seems cruel that one out of Lascelles, Fabian Schar and Federico Fernandez, not mentioning Ciaran Clark or impressive makeshift option Paul Dummett. It remains to be seen what changes, if any, Benitez makes to his side’s tactics but one thing is for certain – Lejeune will be a big loss to this Newcastle team.
