Newcastle United have confirmed the departure of defender Achraf Lazaar after mutually terminating his contract.
The 29-year-old joined Newcastle with a solid reputation from Serie A side Palermo but has made just 10 appearances in a disappointing four-and-a-half year spell.
The Morocco international left-back failed to usurp Paul Dummett from the left-back slot during Newcastle's Championship title winning campaign in 2016/17 and Rafa Benitez decided he wanted to explore other avenues in the position following promotion.
Despite being surplus to requirements in each of the last four seasons, Newcastle have been unable to shift Lazaar on permanently although he has taken in loan spells with Benevento, Sheffield Wednesday and Cosenza.
A club statement on Thursday afternoon wished Lazaar well as United confirmed they have mutually agreed to terminate his contract that was set to expire at the end of the season.
It is likely Lazaar will now return to Italy in search of his next move with Serie A league leaders, AC Milan, incredibly among the clubs linked with him during the January transfer window.
Speaking in December, Lazaar confirmed his desire to return to Italy and admitted he couldn't wait for a new challenge away from Newcastle.
There has been no confirmation over the futures of Henri Saivet and Christian Atsu, both of whom are also deemed surplus to requirements and out of contract at the end of the current campaign.
