Yasin Ben El-Mhanni has been told he has no future at Newcastle United and is one of 15 young players released from the club.
United are still investigating claims of bullying and racism against Peter Beardsley, their under-23 manager, but have now told his principal accuser he can leave.
The 22-year-old made two first-team appearances in cup games last season but failed to make an impact. In footballing terms his release comes as no surprise.
Newcastle hope the Beardsley investigation will be concluded by May. The former England forward strongly denies the accusations.
Beardsley has stayed away from St James’ Park after being placed on gardening leave in January but spent the past week at St George’s Park on a Football Association coaching course.
A Londoner of Moroccan heritage, El-Mhanni played non-league football for Farnborough and Lewes before joining Newcastle in 2016.
Meanwhile, Rafael Benítez is confident his Newcastle players will remain “under control” when he takes them to Spain for a four-day training camp on Thursday.
The manager will head to a sports resort near Alicante with more than a degree of reluctance but, after Saturday’s game at home to Southampton his team are without a match until Huddersfield’s visit on Saturday 31 March. He is currently in the process of arranging a friendly fixture for next weekend, with Royal Antwerp and the Iceland national team among the potential opponents.
“I’m not keen to go to Spain and I don’t usually like to take everyone away from their families but, we’re going because 21 days without a game is too long,” said the former Liverpool manager Benítez, who retains vivid memories of one particular such break during his Anfield tenure.
Back in 2007 Liverpool prepared for a Champions League game at Barcelona at a hotel on Portugal’s the Algarve. On the final night John Arne Riise’s refusal to participate in curfew-breaking karaoke so enraged a drunk Craig Bellamy that the forward attacked him with a golf club.
“We had a few problems in Portugal with Liverpool, although we then beat Barcelona,” Benítez said. “Now, though, we have everything under control. There will be no parties. It’s not too long – we will train, have a competitive game and then come back. The good thing is that the complex where we’ll be isn’t in the middle of town, so the players will have to stay there, relax and focus on football.”
Asked if his squad would be allowed a drink, Benítez smiled. “Yes,” he said. “They can drink water, no problem.”
The manager is adamant there is no chance of a West Brom-like scenario, when four players, during a recent, disastrous, training break in Barcelona, allegedly stole a taxi in the early hours of the morning.
One man unlikely to be in Alicante is Islam Slimani, the Algeria striker who is yet to make his Newcastle debut after arriving from Leicester in a £2m January loan move. A thigh injury dictates he is touch and go for the Huddersfield game.
