Newcastle Captain Adamant That Football Is Sole Focus Amidst Takeover Talk
Excitement is brewing in Tyneside as the potential of new ownership seems to be looming. However, club captain Jamaal Lascelles isn't getting carried away with the growing speculation.
Current owner Mike Ashley has put the club up for sale this past week, with many potential suitors looking to stake claim to the Magpies.
The Mirror claim that "£28bn" businesswoman Amanda Stavely is the frontrunner and has held informal talks with the board about a potential sale.
Newcastle, to the surprise of everyone, have started the season positively, landing in seventh place after defeating Crystal Palace 1-0 at St James's Park. However, the imminent sale of the club before the January transfer window could potentially disrupt their form.
Rafa Benitez insists that his players should concentrate on the game in hand, with his squad traveling to Turf Moor, to face Burnley, on Monday.
September player of the month, Jamaal Lascelles insists that Newcastle will not let any outside distractions affect their football, going into the game against Burnley.
When Asked about the potential of new ownership, Lascelles said: "To be honest, we don’t really look into that.
"Whatever happens, happens. The manager just tells us to concentrate on football. We’re not going to be worried about the takeover. It’s just football. We’ll be working hard for the next game. That’s all we can worry about it."
This no nonsense attitude may be the recipe for their success, thus far in the season, as United are grinding out results.
Lascelles spoke to The Chronicle about United's hard fought win over Crystal Palace as he said: "We knew it was going to be difficult. Palace haven’t been doing great this season, but they got a good win against Chelsea, and we thought that they’d be coming into this game with a lot of confidence."
However, Newcastle's defence was able to suppress the Palace attack that managed to put two past champions Chelsea.
Being the youngest captain in the league, Lascelles relishes the responsibility and claims: "it's obviously a massive deal. Sometimes I’ll drive past the ground, look at the stadium and think ‘I’m the captain of this club – it’s unbelievable’.”
This humility from the 23 year old captain may be a key factor in why he has been able to lead Newcastle to their unforeseen success and remain grounded amid uncertainty about the club's future.
The defender also hails the support of the fans and his teammates in his progression in leadership as he claims: “Obviously, the fans are a big help and the manager’s got a lot of trust in me.
“People have made it easier than maybe I thought it would be.
"I used to think 'who am I to tell a 28-year-old senior pro?', because when I’m 28 there won’t be any 23-year-old’s telling me, that’s for sure! I used to think that, but we’ve got good lads, and it’s only for a good cause.”
It seems Lascelles will not allow any distractions in the Newcastle locker room but will solely focus on scraping out results, leaving the decisions regarding the clubs future to the board.
Support for the Magpies seems to have intensified amid the speculation as they sold out the 2,500 ticket allocation for their fixture at Burnley.