For someone who spent five years at Newcastle, Massadio Haidara didn’t exactly do much, making just 54 appearances, most of which came between 2013-15.
The left-back was never a first-team player, but he stayed until the very end, even making a cameo last year in the Premier League, before leaving on a free in the summer.
Bouncing back in Ligue 2 in France with Lens, the former France U21 international has found himself a strong landing spot, one where he enjoys regular football and feels integral to a growing project.
That doesn’t mean, however, that if the opportunity to return to England presented itself, he’d turn it down.
Speaking to MadeInLens about his time at the club so far, he explained: “It’s a great country with a great league. The atmosphere and everything football around it is incredible. The bar is set very high. There’s a strong involvement and the whole country works around football.
“When we went down with Newcastle, we didn’t see a difference in the stands. There were as many people as usual. The stadium was full: 52000 people. It was just wow! We didn’t understand. Newcastle is a big Lens.”
Aiming to help the club return to Ligue 1 as soon as possible, Haidara and his teammates are on the right track, as the club currently sits third in the league in the playoff spot, five points behind second placed Brest.
As for what the future holds, he’s still only 26. Who knows? Maybe a return to England beckons if he can continue on his strong start with Lens.
