It is said that in Ancient Greece they only ever asked one question, did he have passion? Jamaal Lascelles had this in abundance and was never shy in showing it.
After 12 years of service, the former Newcastle United captain has officially left the North-East, joining Championship side Leicester City.
Having struggled with injuries in 2025 and only featuring twice this season, it felt like a sensible decision for Jamaal Lascelles to leave the football club.
For Newcastle fans who endured tough times prior to the takeover and the revolution under Eddie Howe, there will be an element of sadness with this move.
Jamaal Lascelles stood up when times were difficult and played more than a significant role when Newcastle had to once again regain Premier League status under Mike Ashley’s ownership.
Lascelles joined Newcastle in 2014 from Nottingham Forest for around £4m. After being loaned straight back to the East Midlands club, it was evident that this transfer was for the future. It was another season of struggle for Newcastle under Mike Ashley, with the side having to beat West Ham United on the last day of the season to cement their position in the Premier League for another campaign.
Come the 15/16 season, it was no surprise that the owner didn’t learn from his mistakes. Steve McClaren was appointed at the start of the season and it was a horror story from the start.
Rafa Benitez was appointed in the latter stages of the campaign, and despite best efforts, couldn’t keep Newcastle in the league. However, one of the most significant moments during the season was when a young Lascelles came out and criticised the character of some of the players, stating how important it was to unite and fight for the badge. Only 22 years old at the time, Benitez saw a captain in the making.
Lascelles was handed the armband in 2016 and did not look back. Under Benitez, he learnt and developed into a consistent and reliable centre-back, and was one of the first names on the team sheet. Winning the Championship and lifting the trophy, Benitez’ tactics and CV, accompanied by Lascelles’ passion and fight, gave Newcastle hope.
The 17/18 season was arguably Lascelles’ best in a black & white shirt. Newcastle with a modest squad finished in the top half of the table, and it was Lascelles who led the team to crucial wins, chipping in with key goals also. His standout performance was against Swansea away, where the big talking point prior to the fixture was Portuguese wonder-kid Renato Sanches, who signed for the Welsh side. But it was Lascelles who stole the headlines, with a brilliant headed goal and a goal-line clearance to give Newcastle a big three points. He made 35 league appearances that season and scored three important goals, with murmurs of a potential England call-up happening in the background.
At the start of the 18/19 season, negativity rested on Tyneside as Ashley once again didn’t support Benitez and the coaching staff in the transfer windows. With Benitez making public noises of his discontent, it was a season where Newcastle couldn’t push on from their 10th-place finish the year before. Lascelles stayed consistent and was again the main figure in that back line. Playing his best football under the Spaniard, the centre-back played such a significant role under Rafa Benitez.
When it was announced that Benitez had left Newcastle in 2019, doom and gloom were an understatement, when describing the mood in the city. Steve Bruce took over and it was a bitter relationship between fans and head coach from the start. Although Bruce hit the brief of keeping Newcastle in the Premier League in his two years in the dugout, there were signs that senior players in the team were not happy with the tactics and training schedule. There were reports that Lascelles confronted Bruce and let his him know that there were too many days off during the week. Music to the fans’ ears, this showed once again his leadership qualities and his dedication to the cause.
During the COVID hit seasons, Lascelles’ appearance figures dropped as injuries halted him during certain periods of the campaign. Although not happy with what has happening on the training pitch, the defender never let that derail him, nor did he ever make anything public. He still led from the front and never shied away from any fixture.
October 2021 and Mike Ashley was no longer the owner of Newcastle. PIF, the Reuben brothers and Amanda Staveley came in and led the football club onto a different path. Eddie Howe arrived and straight away they flexed their muscles in their first transfer window. Big signings arrived and to shore up the defence Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, and Matt Targett were brought in to improve the back four. Newcastle survived, but Lascelles lost his place in the side as Burn and Fabian Schar were starting picks for Howe.
In Summer 2022, Newcastle once again invested in the back line, with Sven Botman arriving at St. James’ Park. Unfortunately for Lascelles, this saw the skipper drop further down the pecking order. His presence was still very much apparent, and despite only making 11 appearances that season, a new leadership group was formed with Lascelles leading the forum.
Newcastle achieved Champions League football in 2023 and this was the year when squad rotation was key. Jamaal Lascelles made 26 appearances in the 23/24 season and performed gallantly in the majority of them. Most notably against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, where he faced Kylian Mbappe and wasn’t fazed one bit. Newcastle secured arguably their most satisfying win on the European stage to date and it was Lascelles who wore the armband that night, producing a display nothing short of brilliant.
As we fast forward to the 2024/2025 season, Jamaal Lascelles suffered a serious knee injury which ruled him out for the season. What the club captain did do though, which will never be forgotten in Newcastle folklore, was lift the Carabao Cup. Both Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier felt it was only right that Lascelles be part of the trio who raised the trophy at Wembley. A fitting moment,a deserved moment.
This season Lascelles has made only two senior appearances. When Malick Thiaw was signed in the summer and Jamaal Lascelles was not named in the Champions League squad, it felt like the writing was on the wall.
Although towards the end Lascelles didn’t feature as much as he would want, his legacy at the club will not be forgotten. In some eyes, he may be seen as the best Newcastle captain since Alan Shearer, and the 32-year-old still has much to offer.
He became a local hero instantly and Eddie Howe had this to say back in 2023 when a reporter questioned Lascelles’ future at that time: “He’s been an unbelievable captain for us. Captaincy doesn’t just exist on the pitch, it has to exist off the pitch. The two things are so intrinsically linked. A lot of our success last year wasn’t just down to the team, it came down to a group of players giving everything on and off the pitch. There was a group off the pitch that were absolutely magnificent, and Jamaal was one of them. He will want to play but it’s how you react that is the key. We move forward together.”
(Simon also has his very own blog)
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