Newcastle United's natural born leader
The player who will again come to the fore after contract revelation.
This was the summer of 2016 when Benitez had started building a Newcastle United capable of getting promoted from the wreckage of the previous season’s relegation.
Benitez needed a leader following the departure of Fabricio Coloccini, who himself had succeeded Kevin Nolan, a big presence on and off the pitch, as captain five years earlier.
Coloccini – who finally hung up his boots a couple of years ago in his native Argentina – hadn’t been the obvious choice as captain.
Yet the quietly-spoken defender, handed the armband by then-manager Alan Pardew in 2011, led by example – and kept his team-mates in line with “disapproving looks”.
“Kevin was a different type of leader,” said Pardew in 2022. “Kevin was very much organising and policing the group. He would actively police the group, whereas Colo was not like that.
“He would do it in a much quieter way, with a look, a disapproving look if someone was late for training. Kevin would give someone a dressing down. Colo never really did that. He was always unaccepting of people’s behaviour in a different way. So it was a different type of captain.”
The more obvious contenders to take the armband following Coloccini’s move to San Lorenzo were the likes of Mohamed Diame, Paul Dummett and Jonjo Shelvey along with new signings Isaac Hayden and Matt Ritchie.
New leader
Benitez, however, had different ideas. He went for a younger captain.
United’s manager had taken note of an emerging player who had come to the fore late in the club’s relegation campaign in 2015/16.
Things had gone from bad to worse in Benitez’s third game in charge following the late-season departure of Steve McClaren, a 3-1 defeat away to Southampton.
It was one of those days where players weren’t keen to stop in the mixed zone to talk to journalists before boarding the team coach.
However, one player spoke to a rights-holding broadcaster before leaving the stadium.
Lascelles – who had come off the bench – didn’t hold back in an interview after being involved in a heated dressing room inquest which had seen Daryl Janmaat – who had left the field complaining of a groin problem after slipping in the build-up to the home team’s second goal – suffer a hand injury after punching a wall.
Janmaat left the stadium with two suspected broken fingers, and returned more than a month later with his hand bandaged and protected.
"We need bigger characters on the pitch, players who care and who are going to get after each other," said Lascelles. "We’ve lacked it this season, and no matter how good you are, if you don't have that fight and hunger and desire, it doesn't matter.
"We need to play with more heart. We've got flair players, tricky players, players with loads of talent, but we need more heart, we need more desire."
Those were strong words for a 22-year-old who wasn’t yet a regular starter, and the interview resonated with despairing fans at the time.
Big character
Lascelles’s emergence as a dressing room leader had also impressed Benitez.
He had indeed seen and heard enough from Lascelles by the time the players returned for the start of pre-season, and I reported from the club’s training camp in Ireland that the Derby-born player was set to take the armband in the Championship.
"We have a few players now in the squad who have the character to be captain, but Jamaal has proven himself to be a leader and a big personality in the dressing room and on the pitch,” said Benitez at the time.
The rest is history. Lascelles led the team to the title that season.
Now 30, Lascelles, signed almost a decade ago from Nottingham Forest, remains an “integral” member of Eddie Howe’s Premier League squad.
Lascelles has found his opportunities limited by the form of others, with Howe having settled upon Fabian Schar and Sven Botman as his first-choice central defensive partnership.
He has been there when Howe has needed him, and he’s remained an influence off the pitch.
“He's played an important part in the season when he's played, he's been excellent,” said Howe last month. “There’s good competition for places in that area now, but he’s an integral part of what we are doing."
Howe also pointed to the “development” of his game.
“He’s done incredibly well, both as a leader and captain of the group,” said Howe. “But also as a player, and his game has really developed.”
The club has been fortunate with its captains over the past 15 years.
No two skippers are alike, and Nolan, Coloccini and Lascelles have all brought different qualities to the role. Howe has also benefitted from the leadership of Kieran Tripper – who has worn the armband when Lascelles has not been in the team – and others in his squad.
Contract extension
The season-ending knee injury suffered by Botman an FA Cup defeat to Manchester City before the international break will see Lascelles again come to the fore at the club, which is 10th in the Premier League ahead of Saturday’s home game against West Ham United.
Lascelles – who has played 1,063 minutes of Premier League football this season – is also expected to remain at the club next season after triggering a one-year extension to his contract.
The challenge for Lascelles is now to lead the team back up the table in the remaining 10 games.