Back in 2016, Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez signed Achraf Lazaar after seeing his impressive record for Palermo in Italy. The Magpies dished out £2 million to sign him on a bargain deal. Well, that is what it seemed like back then.

Fast forward two years, and Lazaar finds himself as an outcast, waiting desperately to leave the club and to resurrect his career. Benitez has lost faith in him. He made only 10 appearances for the Magpies, and spent last season on loan at Benevento.

The Moroccan international has barely been given a chance by the Spaniard. Many expected that he would leave in the summer, but the deal didn’t materialise. He is made to rot on the sidelines and barring any miracles, he has no hope of getting into the first team again under Benitez.

He said in an interview recently that Benitez doesn’t speak with him, and there’s nothing he can do to convince his manager. He would welcome any offer from anywhere just to get out of this mess.

Well, Genoa might offer him the escape route. According to Secolo XIX, Genoa are considering a new move to sign him in the January transfer window.

They were keen on signing him in the summer transfer window, and now are hopeful of landing him in January. If the offer is right, Benitez should not think twice in sanctioning his departure as it is the best and the only solution for all parties involved.