Henri Saivet and Rolando Aarons are returning to Newcastle United this summer, but will they be given a chance to fight for a spot on the team?
There are still more questions than answers at Newcastle United, but one thing is for certain – Henri Saivet, Rolando Aarons and two other players who were loaned out have been told to report to the club for pre-season training on July 4th. Saivet was loaned out to Bursaspor in the Turkish Super Lig last season while Aarons is coming back from Sheffield Wednesday.
The club officially announced the departure of Mohamed Diame and a few reserve players from the academy. The team is also listening to offers for Isaac Hayden, so we can expect two first team departures, both from central midfield. As a result, Saivet and Aarons should be given a fair chance to earn their places on the first team roster this summer.
Henri Saivet
Saivet joined Newcastle United back in 2016, but the Senegalese international has only made five appearances for the club and scored one goal in the process. The 28-year-old midfielder has been loaned out three times since signing a contract with the Toon, but he has sufficient talent to play in the Premier League. He is not a regular goal scorer, but he is a proper defensive midfielder who covers a lot of ground, recovers the ball well, has good field vision and he can be a threat from set pieces.
He is ignored by Rafa Benitez, but he continues to earn calls from Senegal, which is a top national team in Africa, so his level of talent is not to be questioned. There is a lot of competition for playing time in midfield, but if Benitez stays he should work closely with Saivet to better train him for a specific role in midfield. Loaning him out for a fourth time would just be a waste of time, especially when Saivet can provide some much-needed depth in midfield next season.
Rolando Aarons
Aarons joined Newcastle United in 2014, but has spent the majority of his career as a loanee away from St. James’ Park. The 23-year-old winger has made 22 appearances for the Magpies since 2014, but has been loaned out three times to Italy, the Czech Republic and most recently in England’s second tier.
His most recent loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship was one for Aarons to remember as he quickly earned the trust of Steve Bruce and the supporters. In his nine appearances for Sheffield Wednesday, Aarons scored one goal and provided one assist.
There is a lot of competition on the wing at Newcastle United with Miguel Almiron, Matt Ritchie, Christian Atsu and Jacob Murphy fighting for regular minutes, however, the departure of Kenedy and the poor form of Murphy should open the door for Aarons this summer. He boasts plenty of pace to be effective down the flank, is an attack-minded winger and he can cause problems for keepers from distance. It would be great to see Aarons get a chance with the team this summer seeing that he has a ton of potential to reach new heights on Tyneside.