Manchester City away from home. Erling Haaland’s, Premier League title-chasing Manchester City away from home.
For Jamaal Lascelles, making his first Newcastle United start since January’s humbling FA Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, this was not so much being thrown in at the deep end, more like chucked directly into the middle of a shark-infested ocean without even a life raft for company.
But, in the end, Lascelles could look himself in the mirror and say that – realistically – he did all he could. Included by Eddie Howe due to Fabian Schar’s absence, the former Nottingham Forest stopper was part of a backline pierced only occasionally by City, succeeding where so many have failed by keeping Haaland off the scoresheet at the Etihad.
“We made it difficult,” Lascelles tells MEN. “I think we have come a long way. There are positives to take. Not many teams will come here and go on the front-foot and have a high press on the halfway line.
“We are disappointed not to get anything. I enjoyed (the challenge of facing Haaland). He has a great record so far but I was looking forward to playing against him.”
Writing on the wall for Jamaal Lascelles at Newcastle United
Then again, while Lascelles did his defensive duties with much aplomb, Newcastle’s eventual 2-0 defeat at City offered a reminder as to why the seldom-seen skipper has found game time so hard to come by under Eddie Howe.
A centre-half in Howe’s system, after all, is expected not just to stop attacks but to start them too. Hence why Schar, in-and-out under Steve Bruce, was rapidly installed as one of the first names on the former Bournemouth boss’s team sheet. Schar is one of the Premier League’s best when it comes to breaking lines and distributing the ball from deep.
His pass completion rate (76 per cent) is actually six per cent lower than Lascelles (WhoScored). But that is because his passes tend to be more high-risk while Lascelles, in comparison, prefers to keep things simple.
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In Schar’s absence – the Swiss missing due to a concussion he picked up in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester United – Newcastle struggled to play their way out from the back.
Lascelles, Newcastle World write, was ‘strong aerially but not at all comfortable with the ball at his feet.’
Newcastle like Leeds’ Robin Koch
Newcastle’s interest in Leeds United centre-back Robin Koch, per Sport1, is perhaps another indication that, while Lascelles is still capable of producing solid defensive displays at Premier League level, his days at St James’ Park are numbered.
Koch joined Leeds from Freiburg for £11 million back in 2020. He’s been one of their most consistent performers at this term, and shares more similarities with Schar than Lascelles. Koch, like Newcastle’s number five, also likes a raking diagonal; combining that technical ability with solid defensive awareness and an underrated versatile streak.
Koch, Sport1 adds, is considering his future at Leeds; hoping to force his way back into the Germany squad for Euro 2024. His contract, meanwhile, expires in less than 18 months’ time. It seems unlikely, as things stand, that he would be willing to sign a new one.
A club of Newcastle’s ambition and trajectory would surely give Koch’s international prospects a timely shot in the arm. Coincidentally, Lascelles’ deal also runs out in the summer of 2024.
With his 30th birthday still months away, Lascelles could still prove to be an outstanding acquisition for a manager who expects his defenders who, well, defend and little else. It’s just that Newcastle, under Howe, are moving towards something a little less reactive.
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