Premier League outfit Newcastle United sent Acraf Lazaar on loan to Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday during the January transfer window.
Rolando Aarons grabbed an assist in Sheffield Wednesday’s 3-1 win against Swansea City on Saturday. But he still wasn’t the best Newcastle United loanee wearing blue and white.
The 23-year-old impressed out wide, his trickery and speed causing no end of problems for a Swans defence who simply couldn’t live with him. No wonder Wednesday manager Steve Bruce, who celebrated his first home win in charge of the Owls, was delighted.
But while Aarons impressed, Achraf Lazaar’s performance was another level entirely.
The Moroccan international has played just 47 minutes of league football since he arrived at Newcastle in the summer of 2016. But, for the first time since he moved to England from Palermo, Lazaar seized the chance to show what he can do.
Lining up at left-back, the 27-year-old produced an outstanding performance that had fans raving about his impact on Twitter. Not only was Lazaar strong and intelligent at the back, he also offered a huge presence going forward and whipped a number of outstanding crosses into the penalty area.
Maybe Rafa Benitez was a little too quick to write him off. But what chance does the defender have of saving his Newcastle career?
Well, if he can build on this brilliant start to life at Wednesday, don’t rule out a second chance being offered. After all, Newcastle remain short of options at left-back with Antonio Barecca only on loan from Monaco, albeit with an option to make his deal permanent for £8 million, according to Gianluca di Marzio.
Lazaar, then, has two months to show Newcastle why they don’t need to spend big.
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