The agent of Newcastle United outcast Achraf Lazaar has suggested that he is aiming for the defender to secure a move back to Italian football after he failed to find a new club in the summer.
The 28-year-old was part of a group of four Newcastle players who the Magpies were looking to shift in the summer, with the likes of Rolando Aarons, Christian Atsu and Henri Saivet also on that list as their wages added up to around £100,000-a-week, per Chronicle Live. Their inability to offload the quartet left Steve Bruce unable to add more players to his squad in the last days of the window.
Lazaar’s time at Newcastle has almost entirely been spent on the fringes of the first team squad, apart from four Championship appearances during the 2016/17 promotion-winning campaign (Sofascore). The defender has been sent out on loan spells to Benevento, Sheffield Wednesday and Cosenza.
During the summer, Lazaar changed agents to Vicenzo Pisacane with the hope being that he would be able to find an alternative destination and a route of St James’ Park, per TuttoMercatoWeb. However, having failed to source a move away, he is now facing the prospect of running his contract down until the end of the season.
Speaking to TuttoMercatoWeb, Pisacane revealed that he had worked hard in the summer to find the defender a new club, while he also revealed that he is hoping he can find a move back to Italy for the 28-year-old.
He said: “We worked to bring him back to Italy until the last day of the market. There was some interest, but it did not materialise.
“I hope to see him again in our [Italian] league. He must find continuity. He knows what were the mistakes of the past, he is a strong player.”
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It is no surprise to see Lazaar being the subject of talk from his agent in terms of trying to find him a route out of St James’ Park. However, that has been troubling for the 28-year-old, who is currently earning £9,000-a-week (Spotrac), earning which might be putting off a few potential suitors.
Given the defender’s lack of impact or first team football in the last few years, it could be unlikely that a club in Serie A wants to take a punt on him. However, he displayed some promising form on loan in Serie B last term, averaging 1.2 successful dribbles, 1.4 tackles and 1.3 accurate crosses per game (Sofascore).
That form might be enough to convince a team to take a gamble on Lazaar, who whatever happens will surely leave Newcastle when his contract finally expires in the summer. The Magpies will then need reflect on a transfer which did not work out for all parties and use it as a warning for future transfer gambles.
