Forgotten Newcastle United man poised for exit as European club explore transfer conditions
Newcastle could be about to let a player who has fallen down Eddie Howe’s pecking order over the last few years to leave the club for good with transfer windows still open in other countries.
Newcastle have not started this season well, with Alexander Isak‘s transfer saga lingering over the club like a cloud before he was eventually able to join Liverpool late in the window.
Eddie Howe moved to bolster a number of positions across the summer, with centre-back a key area that they needed to address after Lloyd Kelly officially left Newcastle to go to Juventus.
Dan Burn, Fabian Schar and Sven Botman have been the mainstays at the heart of the Magpies’ defence in recent years, and it was Malick Thiaw who joined from AC Milan last month to provide more healthy competition to that trio.
Howe has been left with a squad that he will be mostly happy with following the close of the UK transfer window, yet adjustments can be made with some clubs abroad still able to sign players, and one of Newcastle’s long-serving defenders could soon leave amid interest in his services.
Jamaal Lascelles eyed by Trabzonspor
The Daily Mail (11 September) have reported that Trabzonspor are among those exploring a deal for Newcastle stalwart Jamaal Lascelles, who last featured for the club in a 4-3 win over West Ham in March 2024.
The 31-year-old has been left out of Howe’s Champions League squad, and has until Friday (12 September) to seal a move to the Turkish side, as that is when their window shuts, with one year still to run on current his Magpies contract.
Lascelles needs to leave Newcastle for the good of his career
Lascelles was once Newcastle’s club-captain and a mainstay in their side for a number of years between 2015 and 2022.
He helped the Magpies achieve promotion to the Premier League in 2017 and was one of their standout players in the seasons that followed, but he has struggled to make it into the squad in recent years amid their progression under Saudi ownership.
| Appearances | Goals | Yellow Cards |
| 251 | 15 | 42 |
It is over 500 days since he last took to the pitch under Howe for a competitive fixture, after he was taken off against West Ham in March last year with an ACL injury that ruled him out of action for around 13 months, before he made a long-awaited return in an Under-21 friendly clash against Celtic B in May.
Newcastle were previously believed to be lining up a new contract for Lascelles, but that has not materialised and he is now looking for a new challenge with four centre-backs ahead of him in the pecking order for minutes.
He surely still has a lot to give in the game at 31-years-old, and now that he has built up his fitness over the last four months, and looks to have no future on Tyneside, he should jump at the chance to revitalise his career in Turkey at a big club like Trabzonspor.