Newcastle United captain Jamaal Lascelles could see his game time become even more limited next season if the Magpies sign linked centre-back Clement Lenglet.
Lascelles has seemingly lost his regular spot in Eddie Howe’s side this season with January signing Dan Burn forming a formidable partnership with Fabian Schar which has seen them pick up three wins in the four games Burn has played in.
Do Newcastle need to replace Lascelles?
Yes!
No!
However, if Lascelles was concerned by his future on Tyneside now, the summer could be a long and worrying time for the captain considering that Spanish outlet Sport is reporting that the Magpies are crazy about Barcelona’s Lenglet.
The 28-year old centre-back was signed by Newcastle United back in 2014 and has managed to make 207 appearances for the club, captaining the side for the last five seasons. But after a poor campaign which has seen him be part of a side that’s only won three games when he’s started, his future could well be in doubt.
Will Lenglet replace Lascelles?
Earlier this season, it was reported by El Nacional (via Sportskeeda) that Lenglet was being offered out by Barcelona for just €10m (£6.6m), which would see him cost less than Dan Burn who arrived in January, which will surely worry Lascelles given that if the Magpies can sign a Champions League-quality defender who’s been capped by his national side is available for so cheap, why wouldn’t they make a move?
If Newcastle are to become a more dominant force in the Premier League, they will likely look to have control of more games and thus, enjoy more possession, something Lascelles is clearly not comfortable with having progressed the ball forwards at least five yards, excluding in his own defensive third, just the eight times in 19 appearances, compared to Lenglet who’s done this same action 43 times in 12 appearances (FBRef).
Indeed, the Frenchman is far superior when it comes to passing as his short and medium passing success rate sits at a whopping 94.2 and 97.4 respectively, with Lascelles only achieving 74.8% and 86.8%. The overall pass success rate per game is still at an impressive 90%, which is 13% more than the Newcastle man.
As well as coming out on top when it comes to playing progressive passes (31 to Lascelles’ 17) that gets the team forward, he can definitely have more of a positive influence in terms of getting things moving at the back.
The end may have appeared to be closing in on Lascelles with the arrival of Burn, however, if someone of Lenglet’s calibre was to arrive then the only reason Howe would likely want to keep him around would be as a big voice in the dressing and not ripping the entire squad apart too quickly.
Howe already has a whole host of centre-back options at the club such as Fabian Schar, Burn, Lascelles, Federico Fernandez, Ciaran Clark – as well as Kelland Watts, who’s performing regularly on loan at Wigan Athletic – so there’s likely to be some form of a clearout and Lascelles is may well be part of that if he can be sufficiently replaced.
In other news: Mark Douglas reveals brilliant behind-scenes Howe detail that has insiders talking at NUFC