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Should Rafa Benitez give Jack Colback another chance in Newcastle first-team instead of keeping faith with Mo Diame?

Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez reacts during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Liverpool at St. James Park on October 1, 2017 i...
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Mohamed Diame has made 10 Premier League appearances for Newcastle United this season.

Newcastle United's Spanish manager Rafael Benitez shouts instructions to his players from the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Newcastle...

Jack Colback may not the flashiest player Newcastle have, but it could certainly be argued that the former Sunderland man would contribute to Rafa Benitez’s side if he was given a chance in the first-team this season.

Colback went into this campaign six appearances short of bringing up a century for the Magpies, but has been exiled to the under-23 side since, and looks destined to leave St James’ Park at some stage without adding to his tally of appearances.

Jack Colback in action  during the Sky Bet Championship match between Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest at St James' Park on December 30, 2016 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Interestingly however, Benitez continues to hand chances in the first-team to another midfielder, Mo Diame. And Magpies supporters are probably wishing that he wouldn’t.

Diame has hardly captured the imagination since joining from Hull, and has looked particularly poor in recent weeks, putting in a pretty terrible display when Newcastle travelled to Chelsea at the weekend.

Mo Diame of Newcastle in action during the EFL Cup Quarter-Final match between Hull City and Newcastle United at KCOM Stadium on November 29, 2016 in Hull, England.

So perhaps it is now time for Benitez to consider bringing Colback in from the cold instead of giving Diame another chance.

Colback will surely be determined to prove himself having been out of contention for so long, and Newcastle may benefit from that as they continue to try and end their current poor run of form.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7X7iTd0jE8

If nothing else, the 28-year-old could use an opportunity to try and put himself in the shop window if Benitez is so convinced that his future lies elsewhere.

It is obviously not an ideal situation. But until the January transfer window opens, it surely makes more sense to give Colback another chance rather keeping faith with Diame – who really is not pulling up any trees at the moment.