Aarons may be on way out of Toon
ROLANDO Aarons has caught the attention of three clubs ahead of the January transfer window.
It is claimed a lack of game time for Aarons this season has alerted Crystal Palace, Huddersfield and Championship side Aston Villa.
The trio are hoping they might be able to arrange a cut-price deal for the young winger, who has struggled at Newcastle since joining from Bristol City in 2012.
Initially signing for the academy, the 22-year-old made his first-team debut in 2014 and has shown signs of class when he has been fit and playing.
After missing all of last season through injury, Aarons returned in the summer and again looked bright in pre-season.
However, he has made just three first-team appearances since the start of the season, his only start being in the EFL Cup.
That was in the cup defeat to Nottingham Forest in August in which the Jamaican-born winger scored and set up Newcastle’s other in a man-of-the-match display.
It was not enough to earn a regular place in Benitez’s squads, though, as he instead has had to make do with appearances for Peter Beardsley’s second string.
He has recently come back into the first-team fold - but only as a substitute and was unused at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Whether Rafa Benitez would entertain offers for Aarons remains to be seen.
He is in desperate need of funds in January to strengthen his squad, which is now winless in six games in the Premier League.
With a takeover looking still far away, it is possible Benitez will again face a transfer window with a tight budget - and therefore selling Aarons might be seen as a way of making up funds.
Hopes it would be on the cheap seem ill-judged, though. Aarons signed a new deal at Newcastle just last summer which ties him to the Magpies until 2021.