The 32-year-old centre-back has joined on a short-term deal to the end of the season and could go straight into the team to face Birmingham City this Saturday afternoon
Jordan Blackwell
14:14, 03 Feb 2026
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Jamaal Lascelles with Newcastle boss Eddie Howe(Image: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Jamaal Lascelles could be decisive in turning around Leicester City’s season having shown his leadership qualities in guiding Newcastle through “difficult circumstances”.
Lascelles has joined City on a short-term deal to the end of the season, bringing to a close more than a decade on Tyneside.
In 2016, aged 22 and in just his second season at Newcastle, Lascelles was named captain of the club, and he’s remained in the leadership group ever since.
During that time, Lascelles helped Newcastle stabilise themselves in the Premier League before their recent rise into the upper echelons.
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Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said this week: “Jamaal has been an incredible servant to the club, long before I came.
“He was captain at a really young age and during some very difficult seasons for the club. There were some relegation battles where he had to stand up and lead the group in difficult circumstances.
“He did that with real integrity and class. A really strong person and leader, very vocal.
“Then talking about my time with him here, he had a time where he had to wait for his opportunity, but then ended up playing some unbelievable games for us, none more so than the PSG home game.
“In our Champions League journey, he's been pivotal to that and produced some unbelievable performances, some of the best I've seen him play.
“So I pay tribute to him and thank him for all his service, everything he's given to the team and staff. He's a credit to himself.”
Lascelles, who will take the no.24 shirt worn by Boubakary Soumare for the first half of the season, is hoping to inspire his new team-mates to reach the standards he sets, and to drag City up the table as a result.
“I’m definitely going to add high standards, professionalism,” he told the club. “For me, they’re non-negotiable.
“It’s the one per cents every day, dragging 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.
“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.
“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.”
City don’t just need Lascelles’ leadership qualities, but a defender who can help a side that has not kept a clean sheet in any of their past 24 league matches.
They also need a centre-back who can play straight away, with Jannik Vestergaard injured and Caleb Okoli suspended. Lascelles has not played since September, so that may be a big ask.
“I’ll give my all,” he said. “I’ll run through a brick wall for the club in every single game, every single session. I’m quite athletic and quite commanding in the box.
“I enjoy defending, I enjoy winning my duels, and I try and pride myself on keeping clean sheets and doing my job. I try to get the best out of other people as well.
“It’s important I do my job, but if I can help other people and encourage them, sort of take on other peoples’ stresses, I just want to help out as much as I can.”
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