Football
Exclusive: End of an Era Looms as Bournemouth Move for Newcastle Captain Jamaal Lascelles
Bournemouth is making a move to sign Newcastle United defender Jamaal Lascelles, who has fallen down the pecking order at the club. Manager Eddie Howe is open to letting the long-serving captain go in the January transfer window to refresh the squad. Lascelles, who has been sidelined due to injury, may be leaving the club soon.
Newcastle United v Atletico Madrid - Pre-Season Friendly by Stu Forster | Getty Images
Bournemouth have made an approach to sign Newcastle United centre-back Jamaal Lascelles, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
The Magpies long-serving club captain has been at the club for 12 years, but our sources understand that manager Eddie Howe is happy to let the defender leave as he looks to freshen his squad in the January transfer window.
Lascelles, 32, has played just 19 minutes in the Premier League this season having fallen down the pecking order.
The former Nottingham Forest defender was a substitute in a 0-0 draw away to Bournemouth in September and seven days later a late replacement in a 2-1 home defeat to league leaders Arsenal.
But since then the ex-England Under-21 international has been sidelined through injury.
“He’s [Jaamal] not training with us currently because he hasn’t felt well enough physically to train,” revealed Howe, who is desperate to strengthen this month, especially having recently lose Swiss international defender Fabian Schar to an ankle injury for most of the remainder of the season.
“I don’t necessarily thing that he’s injured in the sense that he has one big injury, but in the sense that his body is not feeling great."
“We hope that will change in the next few weeks, but there’s a possibility he could leave."
LOYAL SERVANT
“Jamaal has been an incredible servant. He’s a great leader for us behind the scenes, so let’s see what happens on his future.”
Newcastle were themselves linked just days ago with a move for Bournemouth centre-back Marcos Senesi, with Lascelles potentially used as a makeweight as the Magpies step up their search for a new central defender.
Lascelles joined Newcastle from Forest way back in August 2014 alongside fellow Forest teammate Karl Darlow.
He has played in nine Premier League seasons and one season in the Championship, one which proved to be a memorable one as the club won promotion back to the top-flight.
He also won a winner’s medal for helping the club win the EFL Cup last season.
But the club’s former Player of the Year winner has been reduced to a bit-part player the past two seasons and is now set to leave.
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.