This seems like a case of too many chefs spoiling the broth.
According to reports in The Telegraph, Newcastle United are set to release midfielder Jack Colback in order to free up money on the wage bill ahead of the January transfer window.
The midfielder spent last season on loan at the City Ground, and there were reports that Nottingham Forest were interested in bringing him in during the summer window, so it’s not unthinkable to think that Sabri Lamouchi could go back in for him once again, which is something that would excite the fans, given how highly they think of him.
However, I believe that Forest need to move on from him and concentrate on the players that they already have at their disposal. Firstly, because they already have quite a lot of central midfielders already, and secondly because the players that are already there have become so integral to the side that there’s no way he’d be able to get above them on the pecking order.
Operating predominantly as a defensive midfielder through his career, his main competition will come in the form of Ben Watson and Samba Sow, who he falls well short of when it comes to his capabilities. If you look at the statistics for the three men on WhoScored, Sow has been averaging 4.2 tackles per game, 2.1 interceptions and 0.6 blocks, Watson has 2.4, 1.7 and 0.8 in the same categories this season, and Colback has averaged 2.4, 1.6 and 0.4.
So at best he can only act as cover for the two of them, but even then he’d have to compete with the likes of Ryan Yates, who having just signed a new contract is highly unlikely to be out of the squad completely.
Would you take Colback in January?
Yes
No
So whilst Newcastle United are getting rid of him because he is a burden on their wage bill, and with reports in The Mirror (4/12/19, page 49) that they are trimming the squad even further, bringing him to the City Ground would just act as a similar burden on the bank balance.
