Benitez explains reason for Newcastle misfit Jack Colback’s photo exclusion, weeks after snubbing Wolves move

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Jack Colback’s days with Newcastle United appear to be numbered.

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has told The Mirror that Jack Colback was left out of the club’s team photo as he is not training with the first team right now.

Colback, 27, was born in Newcastle and grew up supporting the Magpies, but he actually started his career with fierce rivals Sunderland, racking up almost 150 appearances for the Black Cats before earning his dream move to Newcastle in 2014.

The midfielder had largely been a regular for his boyhood club, playing nearly 100 games for the Magpies – but he appears to have played his last game for the club.

Colback has been frozen out by manager Rafael Benitez since the club’s promotion at the end of last season, and he now lies behind the likes of Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden and summer signing Mikel Merino in the pecking order.

Over the weekend, it was pointed out that Colback wasn’t even included in Newcastle’s team photo, with fans noticing that he was the only player to be excluded.

Manager Benitez has tackled the situation, telling The Mirror that Newcastle had already decided their squad for the team photo, and with Colback not training with the first-team squad, it made no sense to put him in the photo.

“It’s simple. We had decided the squad before,” said Benitez. “He is not training with the team and we didn’t change our position on that. It made no sense to change things again just because we’re taking a team picture.”

“It has to be consistent. We have to be consistent in terms of our ideas as professionals and the way that we want to manage the squad,” he added.

Now, a player being or not being included in a team photo may not mean a lot to many, but for Colback, it’s just another sign that he has no future at St. James’ Park under Benitez.

The Mirror note that Colback snubbed both Hull City and Wolverhampton Wanderers last on deadline day in August due to geographical reasons, and whilst giving up on his dream of playing for Newcastle may be hard, Colback may have to face up to life away from Tyneside.