“It wasn’t an easy time” – Player admits move to ‘big club’ Newcastle United was part of struggle period

Valentino Lazaro had a short spell with Newcastle United during the 2023/24 season. He arrived from Inter Milan on a loan basis, did reasonably well and then went back to his parent club.

In that summer, and even in following windows, there were claims a return to the Magpies could be on the cards. That would perhaps have been a surprise, considering some of the comments which came from around the player, with an ongoing suggestion that he was worth somewhat more than Newcastle United.

He then went on loans to Borussia Monchengladbach, Benfica and Torino, before making a permanent move to the latter.

The right-sided player has been speaking to Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung about aspects of his career, and Newcastle United got a mention.

The 28-year-old concedes he went through something of a struggle with his loans away from Inter Milan, and is quoted as saying: “Between July 2019 and July 2022 I was at Inter, Newcastle, Mönchengladbach and Benfica Lisbon, it wasn’t an easy time, even though there were big clubs involved. Where it would have worked best would have been Gladbach – but unfortunately I missed out there twice with muscle injuries.”

Injuries have been a recurring problem from Lazaro, and he believes it’s something he’s understanding more with experience: “You learn to deal with them. It’s true that, as a very explosive, fast-paced player, I now understand my body better and have also changed a few things – including my diet and recovery.”