The Newcastle defender called time on his Newcastle career to move to Leicester
Leicester City unveil new signing Jamaal Lascelles
Jamaal Lascelles has spoken out about the reasons behind leaving Newcastle United after completing a move to Leicester City.
The centre-half brought the campaign down on nearly 12 years with the Magpies after sealing a deadline day move to the Foxes. The transfer wasn’t formally announced until the day after the window had closed while Leicester waited for the paperwork to be ratfied by the EFL, but the big defender was finally unveiled in a blue shirt.
Lascelles hasn’t featured since coming off the bench in the dying moments against Arsenal, one of two substitute appearances he has made for Newcastle this season. And while he has appeared more than 250 times for the club, injuries and a slide down the pecking order under Eddie Howe mean he hasn’t started a game in almost two years, dating back to March 2024.
The 32-year-old admitted that played a part in his decision to leave Tyneside, his home for more than a decade after signing from Nottingham Forest in 2014.
“I’ve been at Newcastle for a long time, since I was 21,” Lascelles said. “It’s not often that players stay at clubs for that long. I had some great memories there.
“I’ve seen the ups, the downs. It’s a great set-up there, but I’m here and it’s a new chapter. I can’t wait to get started. Like I said, I want to win games, I want to get back to playing football and enjoying playing games, helping out as much as I can.”
Lascelles earned a reputation as a leader at St James’ Park. Not only was he appointed captain by Rafa Benitez, he also skippered the side in the Premier League and was part of the leadership group that drove standards higher under Eddie Howe.
Lascelles believes his experience and ability to lead will help him improve Leicester’s mentality off the pitch and results on it, as they struggle at the wrong end of the Championship table.
“I’m definitely going to add high standards, professionalism . . . for me, they’re non-negotiable. It’s the one per cents every day, dragging myself and other people on board and just keeping high standards.
“If you do that in and around the building, on the training pitch, it’ll carry onto the games.
“It’s quite a young squad, so I feel like, with me being 32, I’ve been in similar positions before in my career, in the Championship, so there’s not much I haven’t seen. I’m just hoping to bring my experience and add to everybody here.
“There’s some great talent. I’ve been keeping my eye on Leicester for a while. There’s some fantastic talent in the team. There are some young players that might need a bit of guidance, might need an arm around the shoulder, might need a firm hand. That sort of stuff goes a long way in football, having leadership, and that sort of stuff behind the scenes can carry onto the pitch.”
A return to the Midlands also appealed to Lascelles, who started his career in Nottingham. He had a number of options, with Birmingham City also keen on the player before he plumped for the King Power Stadium.
“It’s local to me, my parents are around the corner, my family and friends are here,” he added. “Obviously, the football as well, it’s a huge club. They probably should be higher than where they are and I want to help them try to kick on and start winning games and push up the table.
“That’s all I want to do, play regular football. I’m really looking forward to the challenge, meeting the team, meeting all the staff. Since I’ve come in so far, everyone’s been really friendly and welcoming, so I can’t wait to get started.
“I’ll give my absolute all every time I cross the white line. Not just that, but in and around the building, it’s important to drive the standards, try and improve the one per cents every day. They do go a long way. I’m buzzing to be here and just can’t wait to get started.”