Newcastle didn’t have a great transfer window this summer. After finishing 10^th in the table last season, the club failed to reinvest heavily into the squad in order to give Benitez a chance of replicating that finish or even bettering it.

Rather than building on the squad over the summer, Mike Ashley worked under the strategy of finding replacements for the players that departed rather than improving the overall quality of the team. Salomon Rondon was brought in to replace Aleksandar Mitrovic, Ki for Mikel Merino and Federico Fernandez for the injured Florian Lejeune.

Moreover, the club also failed to find a suitable creative midfielder to replace Ayoze Perez and a left-back to improve on Paul Dummett.

Aside from Paul Dummett, Rafa Benitez has Achraf Lazaar as the only other potential starter but according to Italian journalist, Gianluca Di Marzio, the Moroccan is a target for Serie A side, Genoa.

The Breakdown

After such a tumultuous transfer market where the Newcastle faithful have shown that a lot of them are against their maligned owner, letting Lazaar go would certainly add to the fans’ displeasure with Ashley.

While the left-back isn’t a starter for the club or even one of Benitez’s top player’s, to let him go after the closure of the English transfer window would be a terrible move.

With the position already weak as it is and with Benitez concerned with the lack of signings the club made this summer, letting Achraf might just go some way to Benitez leaving the club.

He may not be one of the club’s starters but to eliminate your own depth without being able to bring anyone in, just seems madness.

What do you think about this Newcastle fans?