The 25-year-old left Newcastle United on loan this past summer.
Achraf Lazaar has told Football Italia that he snubbed a move to Fiorentina last summer in favour of joining Newcastle United in what he claims was a “nightmare” stint at St James’s Park.
The 25-year-old defender joined Serie A outfit Benevento on a season-long loan after struggling for regular football at Newcastle under Rafael Benitez in his debut campaign.
The left-back managed only four Championship appearances for the Magpies in their promotion-winning season, claiming that Benitez never gave him an explanation.
Now, the former Palermo man has suggested that the Spanish manager duped him into rejecting a move to the Viola in favour of undertaking what he thought would be a big role with the North-East club last term.
“My signing for Benevento is the end of a nightmare,” he told Football Italia. “At Newcastle I never played and over a whole year Rafa Benitez never gave me an explanation.
“All he said was that I was a player more suited to Serie A or the Premier League, rather than the Championship. It’s a shame because he really wanted me.
“I was about to sign for Fiorentina when he called me and told me to go to him. They were just words, what a disappointment.”
Lazaar made his debut in this weekend’s 1-0 defeat at home to Torino, making a 23-minute cameo.
Newcastle picked up a second successive Premier League win on Sunday, having lost their first two games, by edging out Swansea with a 1-0 victory.
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