It’s finally official. After almost 12 years on Tyneside, Jamaal Lascelles has left Newcastle United.
After undergoing a medical on Monday, the 32-year-old has now completed a permanent move to Leicester City, joining for the remainder of the 2025/26 season.
Lascelles was out of contract at the end of the campaign, meaning a mid-season move has allowed the centre-back to get game time elsewhere and return to the Midlands, closer to family and his place of birth.
Confirming his departure, Newcastle posted this farewell tribute to one of the club’s great leaders:
12 years. 253 appearances. A leader on and off the pitch. 🥹
We can confirm that Jamaal Lascelles has completed a permanent switch to Leicester City. pic.twitter.com/53BgezJ8IG
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) February 3, 2026
It’s a times like this when Howe would probably wish he could call upon a fully fit and firing Lascelles, with Sven Botman recently unable to play at Liverpool and Fabian Schar out until April.
Instead, our former captain hasn’t played since the end of last year, with Howe respecting his wish to leave for Leicester and thanking the player for his immeasurable contribution to the club over the last decade.
“Jamaal has been an incredible servant to the club, long before I came.
“He was captain at a really young age and during some very difficult seasons for the club. There were some relegation battles where he had to stand up and lead the group in difficult circumstances.
“He did that with real integrity and class. A really strong person and leader, very vocal.
“Then talking about my time with him here, he had a time where he had to wait for his opportunity, but then ended up playing some unbelievable games for us, none more so than the PSG home game.
“In our Champions League journey, he’s been pivotal to that and produced some unbelievable performances, some of the best I’ve seen him play.
“So I pay tribute to him and thank him for all his service, everything he’s given to the team and staff. He’s a credit to himself.”
Reacting to the move, Lascelles told Leicester City’s official website:
“I’m buzzing to get through the door. It’s a great setup here, huge support, the facilities are fantastic.
“I just can’t wait to help out as much as I can, try to push us up the league and meet the boys tomorrow.
“I’m definitely going to add high standards, professionalism. For me, they’re non-negotiable.
“It’s the one per cents every day, dragging other people on board and just keeping high standards. If you do that in and around the building, on the training pitch, it’ll carry onto the games.
“It’s quite a young squad, so I feel like, with me being 32, I’ve been in similar positions before in my career, in the Championship, so there’s not much I haven’t seen. I’m just hoping to bring my experience and add to everybody here.
