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Rafa Benitez confirms five Newcastle United players could still leave before the end of the month

6 years ago
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Obviously the only immediate real priority for Rafa Benitez, is to try and get points in the bank in these early matches.

Starting with Cardiff there are three more matches before the international break, home to Chelsea and then away at Man City on 1 September before there’s a two week gap.

However, as well as accumulating points, Rafa Benitez is hoping by that point to have found new clubs for five of his players, even if only on a temporary basis.

Official confirmation is still awaited that Henri Saivet has joined Bursapsor, the midfielder having taken his medical and Turkish media reporting that a deal is on the table for him to be loaned for a year with an £800,000 fee to be paid to Newcastle.

As for Achraf Lazaar, he is another who Rafa has previously mad clear he has no future at Newcastle.

Unfortunately, a loan deal to Genoa has failed.

The player had his medical and the two clubs were still arguing about the buying part of the loan arrangement, Genoa wanting the freedom to decide at the end of the season whether they wanted to buy him, whereas Newcastle wanted them tied in to buying him next summer at a pre-arranged price.

The Italian transfer window closed on Friday night with no agreement reached.

Most European leagues though don’t close their transfer windows until the end of the month, so surely Lazaar will find a club somewhere by then, with Newcastle probably almost certainly having to relax their demands.

However, Rafa Benitez has made clear that talk of Isaac Hayden and Ciaran Clark being allowed to go out on loan to Championship clubs is nonsense, with them being players he will be relying on this season to varying degrees.

The manager though has stated that they are trying to find a club for Rolando Aarons to go to, almost certainly on loan at an EFL club. Rafa Benitez not even giving him a first team squad number.

As for the younger players, the Newcastle boss says he would like to find loan clubs for Callum Roberts and Jamie Sterry so they can get some first team football, with no chance of them being involved with Newcastle’s first team in the immediate future.

Rafa though says he isn’t too sure what will happen with Freddie Woodman and whether he will go out on another loan, or will stay at St James Park for the first half of the season.

The manager talks of still having decisions to make and maybe we could yet see Freddie Woodman promoted to third choice keeper behind Dubravka and Darlow, with Rob Elliot potentially heading out instead?

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