Achraf Lazaar never made a single Premier League appearance under Benitez at Newcastle United - and he's now back in Italy.
Newcastle United flop Achraf Lazaar claims he wasted two years of his career under Rafa Benitez at St James’ Park before he returned to Italy towards the end of the transfer window, speaking to The Chronicle.
It’s fair to say the Morocco international will not be remembered on Tyneside, at least not for anything particularly positive.
A £2.3 million signing from Palermo in 2016 (Chronicle), Lazaar made just four league appearances in three years with Benitez seemingly deciding very early on that the versatile left-sider didn’t have the required quality to wear the famous black and white stripes.
Lazaar’s miserable spell at Newcastle has come to an end, for now at least, after joining Serie B outfit Cosenza on loan – and he couldn’t resist a parting shot at the now departed Benitez.
“I was disappointed. It was funny because everybody kept asking me: 'What is going on?'. I came here and worked hard, but I got no minutes,” Lazaar said. "I was sorry about that.
"I lost two years of my career because of it. Rafa Benitez is a big manager. He called me up and asked me to come to Newcastle, but after that he didn't play me.”
The 17-time international was still keen to point out that he improved as a player under Benitez’s guidance but he must have been thrilled when the Spaniard was replaced by Steve Bruce, who worked with Lazaar during an impressive loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday last season.
But if he was hoping for a clean slate, Lazaar would have been left more disappointed than ever. After being left out of Bruce’s 25-man Premier League squad, the Magpies’ forgotten man had little choice but to leave.
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