When the Newcastle first team players returned for pre-season training last week, so too did the fringe players who had been out on loan last season.
One of those was Achraf Lazaar, who was made to train with the reserves before his loan switch to Sheffield Wednesday last season, with Rafa Benitez not deeming him good enough to be considered for the senior squad.
But with Rafa gone, and the temporary duo of Ben Dawson and Neil Redfearn in charge, players like Lazaar and Jack Colback have been afforded a return to the first team training set-up.
Journalist’s comments could suggest another chance for Lazaar
As if fans – who were hoping to have seen the back of Lazaar – were not worried enough about the future direction of the club, comments from journalist Alan Biggs will have sent shockwaves through them yesterday.
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Biggs took to Twitter last week to advise of how highly Redfearn rates Lazaar, which led one of the higher profile Newcastle fans’ Twitter accounts to suggest he may “feature heavily” should he be in charge for any games.
Of course, it remains to be seen who will have the leading role, should Dawson and the former Liverpool women’s team manager take charge of the Toon’s jaunt to Asia.
But the comments regarding Lazaar’s alleged standing with the temporary coach received a predicted response from many Newcastle fans.