OPINION
The transfer deadline day in Europe on Monday has already seen Newcastle United offload two players on loan who have no future at the club.
Left back Achraf Lazaar and winger Rolando Aarons have gone away on temporary spells, but there is one Magpies misfit who remains stuck in St James’ Park limbo.
Yes, Jack Colback. The Geordie midfielder is somehow still a Newcastle player, despite not being named in the club’s Premier League squad and not making it onto the pitch in the team’s Carabao Cup clash with Leicester City last week. That snub was probably the death knoll for his career at the club.
Despite that, there has been no movement as of yet. The thing is, though, Newcastle should be pulling out all the stops to secure him a move away from Tyneside.
The 29-year-old’s contract runs until 2020 [Source: Transfermarkt] meaning he is costing the club £35,000-per-week [Source: Spotrac] to essentially do nothing at the moment.
This is a man who hasn’t played a competitive game for the Magpies since May 2017 – in the Championship [Source: Transfermarkt]. It’s ludicrous that someone who has been out of favour for that long is still a Newcastle player.
Former boss Rafael Benitez didn’t want him and, by leaving hm out of his Premier League squad, new head coach Steve Bruce has made it clear that he’s not keen on him either.
This is a situation that needs to be sorted out, because Colback is now merely a drain on Newcastle’s wage bill, while his career is stalling as well.
At this point, even a loan move will do. That will see Colback off the wage bill until his contract expires next summer, by which point he won’t be Newcastle’s problem anymore. Get it done.
