Opinion

There is no way Jamaal Lascelles would have conceded that goal

I think there is a big feeling of injustice on behalf of Jamaal Lascelles.

He has been excellent this season and it is surely ridiculous that he is still to be included in any England squad, this despite Gareth Southgate calling up 27 players to the last get together in March.

Not only has he shown ever increasing ability in his own game – Jamaal Lascelles has clearly had a positive influence on those around him as well this season.

The likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Mo Salah are obviously brilliant players but I would argue that the Newcastle captain has been even more important to his club, than either of them.

Where do you think Newcastle would now be if it hadn’t been for Lascelles?

Well, NUFC certainly wouldn’t be sitting on 38 points now and I believe the club would still be very much in the relegation fight, just outside the bottom three at best.

You can sound like a broken record but you simply can’t ignore the Jamaal Lascelles FACTS in the 26 PL games he has started:

Only 24 goals conceded (Newcastle let in 17 in the six matches Lascelles didn’t start this season).

Only conceded three goals once (at Man City).

NUFC have conceded twice in another four of those games, meaning 21 out of 26 Lascelles starts have seen one or zero goals conceded.

Only twice have Newcastle lost by a two goal margin with the captain in the starting eleven, away at Man City and Liverpool.

For selfish reasons as well, I think Jamaal Lascelles not getting England recognition is a nightmare.

He is being linked with Chelsea and Spurs amongst others, and history tells us that when in recent years a player graduates from a ‘lower/lesser’ club to the likes of them, it is then odds on that surprise surprise, the player finds himself suddenly in the England squad.

As a Newcastle fan it would be gutting if we lost a player who we could potentially build a side around for years to come.

Rafa Benitez has been asked about the recent speculation and insists his captain is ‘happy’ and only ‘focused’ on Newcastle United.

Rafa Benitez:

“Jamaal Lascelles is happy, training well, he is improving, he is focused.

“You can’t stop speculation about players.

“But I was talking with him for a while last week and the focus is just on trying to improve his game.

“I think at the moment, he knows he has to continue progressing and learning, but he is quite happy here.”

Last weekend, I can’t get one image out of my head.

It was pivotal anyway in the game, Lejeune’s long clearance ending up with Ayoze Perez putting it away for the winner.

However, it was nothing but a hopeful clearance and one that both Leicester Captain Wes Morgan and England’s Harry Maguire should have routinely dealt with.

I know it is only one incident but Maguire’s total inability to take charge of the situation made me only think…there is absolutely no way that that goal would have been conceded, if Lascelles had been in a blue shirt.

I don’t think England have got any outstanding central defenders and certainly after watching Harry Maguire throughout last Saturday’s match, I just can’t see that he is better than Jamaal Lascelles.

Despite playing for a better team higher up the league, Leicester have conceded 45 goals in the 32 PL matches Maguire has played, compared to only 24 in the 26 Newcastle matches that Lascelles has started.

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