Lloyd Kelly was heavily linked with a summer move to St James’ Park prior to Sven Botman’s injury, with talks already taking place over a potential free transfer, but the Dutchman’s need for ACL surgery has increased our need for another left-sided defender.
With that in mind, Kelly feels like one of the more likely summer signings and a deal that makes sense on several fronts. He’ll be cheap, is a Premier League captain, can play in a couple of positions and knows Eddie Howe well following their time together at Bournemouth.
Speaking in 2020 – a year after Howe signed him from Bristol City for £13m – the Newcastle boss had this to say on the 25-year-old, hailing his quality, maturity and strong mentality:
“With Lloyd, I truly believe he’s got everything he needs to be a top, top player. His career is out in front of him. If he can stay free from injury, then he can achieve so many great things.”
“I think one of the great things about Lloyd when I first met him – I was blown away by how mature he was. How much mental capacity he had to want to improve and learn and to become the very best player that he can be.
“Mentally he was very, very good anyway. I think from this spell on the sidelines he’s probably learned a lot about himself and his ability to deal with setbacks.
“He’s had a lot of time on his own to think about where he wants to go with his career. We hope we benefit from that in the future. He’s certainly someone who I think could have leadership capabilities as he grows through his career.”
These type of signings do concern me, there are much better players out there and EH needs to stop looking for projects if we want to challenge we need the finished article.
David(Quote)