McClaren Admits He Faces Agonising Decision Over Whether To Hand Youngster Surprise Start

Will Aarons be given the nod by McClaren

by Chris Waugh

Rolando Aarons is right at the forefront of Steve McClaren's "thinking" - but the Newcastle United head coach admits he has a "hard decision" to make as to whether or not to start the youngster against Southampton. The Magpies begin their 2015-16 Barclays Premier League campaign by hosting the Saints at St James' Park on Sunday (1.30pm kick-off) and McClaren is undecided on his starting line-up - or at the very least he is keeping it close to his chest. As well as admitting he needed to decide whether or not to start Papiss Cisse or Aleksandar Mitrovic - or possibly even both - up front, McClaren also faces a headaches as to whether or not he should play the "exciting" Aarons from the beginning of the game.

Quoted in The Chronicle, McClaren said of the 19-year-old England Under-20 international ahead of the Southampton game:
"He€™s always been in my thinking - I saw him a few times last season. "He€™s young but he is certainly an exciting player. "Is he ready to start (against Saints) or is he ready to be an impact player? Again it€™s a hard decision."
Will McClaren place Aarons into his Southampton starting XI? It will be interesting to see, that's for certain... For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCulture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.

Contributor
Contributor

NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.