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Newcastle United: Steve Bruce opens up on Magpies’ intentions over Rolando Aarons and other outcasts
Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has suggested that he faces a challenging decision in managing the situations of the likes of Rolando Aarons and other fringe players after they failed to secure moves.
The Magpies had made no secret of the fact they wanted to shift out Aarons, Christian Atsu, Henri Saivet and Achraf Lazaar ahead of the domestic deadline. The four players have all been frozen out of the first team picture and Newcastle wanted to get their combined £100,000-a-week wages of their wage bill, as per Chronicle Live.
Rolando Aarons moves falls through
Atsu had been linked with a potential move to either Watford or Nottingham Forest, but the versatile Ghanaian was never really close to an exit. The only one of Newcastle’s four outcasts who nearly secured a move away was Aarons but his proposed permanent switch to Huddersfield Town fell away due to paperwork being submitted too late, as per Chronicle Live.
That leaves the Magpies needing to consider their options over the four players, and Newcastle could elect to terminate their contracts by mutual consent to allow them to find new clubs, as per Chronicle Live. It will either be that or have them running down their contracts.
Speaking to the Chronicle Live, Bruce suggested that he will face a difficult challenge in managing the situation of the four players. He also revealed it would be highly unlikely that any of them would be able to force their way back into the first team picture.
He said: “It’s not the easiest, of course. Last year, Saivet and Jack Colback were in that unfortunate situation. I have to say I’m so pleased that Jack got fixed up but, unfortunately, Henri still finds himself in the wilderness a little bit.
“It’s not a great situation for anyone so I’ll manage it the best I can. We need them players to get up and playing and get on with their career a little bit because if they’re not playing for us and they haven’t got anything to look forward to on a Saturday then it does become a difficult time. We’ll manage it as best we can.”
Magpies suffering through past recruitment errors
Newcastle have enjoyed a successful transfer window in terms of the additions they have made to their squad. However, the situations around the quartet of unwanted players is a stark reminder of past mistakes. For too long, the Magpies invested in players who were a gamble only to see that backfire.
The arrivals of Lazaar and Saivet in particular have been dreadful decisions, as the pair have barely ever featured for the Magpies. The pair are finally into the last year of their deals and Saivet is still earning around £35,000-a-week. Meanwhile, Aarons was described as ‘great’ by Bruce while on loan at his Sheffield Wednesday side previously, but he is also now surplus to requirements alongside Atsu.
Newcastle fans, should the Magpies release the four players early from their contracts? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!
