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Selling Achraf Lazaar could be an unnecessary risk for Newcastle United

Rafael Benitez Manager (Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
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Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez is said to be on the verge of selling Achraf Lazaar.

Achraf Lazaar in action during a US Citta' di Palermo training session at Tenente Carmelo Onorato training center on August 16, 2016 in Palermo, Italy.

Letting go of Achraf Lazaar could be an unnecessary risk for Newcastle United to take, with the transfer window closed.

The Northern Echo claim that Newcastle are close to offloading Lazaar to Italy.

The 26-year-old has barely made an impact at St. James’ Park since signing in 2016, but letting him go now could be a gamble that Newcastle simply don’t need to take.

Rafael Benitez never brought in the full-back that he wanted over the summer, which leaves their options in defence looking short.

With DeAndre Yedlin potentially out with a long-term injury, Newcastle only have a limited selection of players who can play at right or left-back.

DeAndre Yedlin (L) looks to close down Cal Roberts (R) during the Newcastle United Training session at Carton House on July 13, 2018, in Kildare, Ireland.

Javier Manquillo looks likely to take Yedlin’s place as Newcastle’s right-back, while Paul Dummett will continue on the left hand side of their defence.

However, beyond that, Newcastle’s options at full-back look seriously limited.

Lazaar may actually be one of their better reserve options, and if Newcastle let him go, and suffer more injuries to any of their full-backs, then Benitez could regret that decision as the season goes on.

Achraf Lazaar during Serie A match between Juventus v Benevento, in Turin, on november 5, 2017