OPINION
Gareth Southgate ignored Newcastle United’s Jamaal Lascelles when naming his latest England squad and the brutal snub of the defender will see him leave St James’ Park sooner than planned.
The England manager named a quartet of uncapped talent in his squad that are set to face Holland and Italy in World Cup warm-up games, as reported by Sky Sports, but ignored the Magpies’ in-form captain.
Lascelles has been a tremendous player for the Magpies this season, being a reassuring presence at the back for his side, in the 27 appearances he has made.
If the 24-year-old wasn’t at the club this season, you’d dread to think how many more goals the club would have let in, considering they’ve conceded 40 league goals with him in their squad.
Lascelles’ performances this season have clearly proven that he is one of England’s best centre-backs and is definitely better than James Tarkowski and Alfie Mawson who made Southgate’s squad.
With Lascelles’ teammate Jonjo Shelvey also being overlooked, it seems like the England boss has simply ignored the pair because their in a struggling Magpies team.
The only player that features in a struggling side this season that made Southgate’s latest squad is Mawson, but with Swansea in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, it does imply they’ve had more success than Benitez’s team during this campaign.
There’s no more Lascelles could have done to impress Southgate this season, as he’s achieved all the personal accomplishments that he possibly could have at St James’ Park, shown by the fact he is their captain.
Therefore it suggests that the talented 24-year-old centre-back will need to move to a more successful club in order to get the international recognition he deserves.
The Evening Standard previously reported that Chelsea were considering trying to sign him in the summer and if he moved to the Premier League giants, it wouldn’t be long until he featured in the England team.
This means that it’s now a question of when Lascelles will leave St James’ Park, not if, as the 24-year-old centre-back will want to continue to progress in his career and to do that he needs to play international football.