West Ham United target Jamaal Lascelles is set to stay at Newcastle United as the Magpies have thwarted their bid for the player. Lascelles won Newcastle United’s player of the season and has been the heart and soul of United’s defence last season.
At just 24, he is the captain of the side and formed a formidable partnership with Florian Lejeune at the back which helped the Toon in securing a top half finish where everyone touted them to fight for relegation. The Hammers are in desperate need of a proven centre-back and they have already signed the highly rated French defender Issa Diop. The East London outfit had the joint worst defensive record last season and Manuel Pellegrini will be expected to solve that by the time the new season starts.
Lascelles even had an outside chance of finding a place for himself in the World Cup squad of England but Gareth Southgate went on to pick the players whom he had worked with in the qualifiers and friendlies. The 24-year-old has represented England at various youth levels and a senior team call-up doesn’t look far away. The Englishman has been with the Tyneside outfit since 2014 and has slowly established himself as an integral member of the team.
The player has also expressed his happiness with the Toon. He said,” I’m happy at Newcastle. I don’t take notice of the media and I have always been told not to buy into speculation. I was told not to read into it. Half of it isn’t even true anyway so I’m just concentrating on playing for Newcastle. I’m happy here, I’m captain, it’s my job and that’s all I’m doing right now.”
It looks certain that Rafael Benitez’s star centre-back is set to stay at St. James Park and this will certainly come as a good news for the Spanish manager as he has built this current Newcastle team on the back of strong defensive performances and Lascelles is a big part of it. More than just a rock, Lascelles is the leader of his troops at the back and losing him would have set the Magpies back as they look to continue their rise in English football.
West ham should probably now look at other targets as Lascelles is currently out of bounds. The Englishman will look to build on from here onwards as he looks to take his career to new heights.
