It wasn’t easy to sign Lazaro – so why not make use?
PLAYER DID NOT GET OPPORTUNITIES
THE signature of Valentino Lazaro was one Newcastle United were forced to work hard for.
Max Hagmayr – the Inter Milan winger’s agent – was in the crowd at St James’ Park as the Magpies secured a thrilling last-gasp victory against Chelsea in January.
Next on the agenda for Hagmayr were meetings with RB Leipzig’s representatives who were keen to bring the Austrian international back to the Bundesliga just months after his departure for Milan.
However, less than a week after Isaac Hayden’s dramatic winner in front of the Gallowgate, the Magpies proudly announced they had got their man.
Lazaro’s arrival was seen as another step taken towards Steve Bruce’s plan to gradually transform United into an front-foot outfit.
Bruce told the club’s website: “Valentino is a quality player who’ll add to us in attacking areas of the field, where we need to improve. He can play in a few positions but he is a natural winger with an excellent delivery.
“We have worked hard to get him ahead of other clubs, so I’m delighted with what we’ve done.”
Goals in the FA Cup victory at West Brom and the recent demolition of Bournemouth have highlighted Lazaro’s capabilities in the final third.
But more often than not, the “natural winger with an excellent delivery” has been forced to settle for cameo appearances or starts in a wingback role.
United under Bruce are clearly a team in transition, with the head coach regularly switching between back five favoured by predecessor Rafa Benitez and the more aggressive 4-2-31 formation.
Lazaro has unfortunately found himself a victim of this gradual shift with the 24-year-old often fielded in a wing-back role he appears ill-suited for.
The winger suffered a chastening introduction to English football, with a nutmeg at the hands of Bukayo
Saka on his first start in the thrashing at Arsenal.
The following match saw Lazaro handed a straight red for hauling down Wilfried Zaha in the final minutes of a disappointing defeat at Crystal Palace.
However, Lazaro bounced back from the dismissal in impressive fashion, netting in United’s fifth-round victory at the Hawthorns. A strong performance – albeit against Championship opposition – seemed to suggest a template where the 24-yearold could thrive in attack alongside Miguel Almiron, Joelinton and Allan Saintmaximin.
Yet Lazaro has been handed just two starts since the restart – as a wing-back against Manchester City and Liverpool. Unsurprisingly, the winger was quiet on both occasions.
It was after his clever run and dinked finish at Bournemouth where the loanee quietly expressed his discontent at his United spell to date.
Lazaro said: “I wanted to show that I can help the team. I wasn’t really happy with the time that I was given before.
“I felt that I deserved more, but at the end of the day it’s always the manager’s decision and we were 3-0 up and playing well, so he did a good job too.
“I just wanted to show myself basically and integrate myself into the team.”
Away from his solid if unspectacular displays, there are numerous reasons why Lazaro is right to feel disgruntled by his lack of opportunities.
United’s squad was ravaged by the demands of playing twice a week after the restart, and fatigue inevitably set in among some of the team’s key individuals.
Survival was all but secured with the thumping victory over Sheffield United in the Magpies first match back. The FA Cup exit meant there
I felt that I deserved more, but
at the end of the day it’s always the manager’s decision
Valentino Lazaro
was realistically nothing but pride to play for in the closing weeks – except perhaps the insatiable thirst from pundits to compare Bruce’s points tally with his predecessor.
But despite all of this, Lazaro was forced to watch the majority of the action from the sidelines. It is no surprise this lack of game-time has made the Austrian international question the merits of a permanent deal on Tyneside.
Bruce discussed the prospect of a second loan for the winger and fellow loanee Nabil Bentaleb following the final-day defeat to Liverpool.
The head coach said: “We have to have conversations with their respective clubs and look to see whether we’re going to make any of them permanent.
“The alternative is can we have them for another season on loan? Let’s see how the situation develops.”
But in a goal-shy and injury-plagued side playing for little more than pride following the restart, Lazaro still found himself a peripheral figure.
It was the perfect opportunity to give the winger a run in the team and judge whether he could have a longterm future at St James’ Park – yet Bruce was clearly not interested in doing so.
All of which begs the question – why did United sign Lazaro?