Jamaal Lascelles and Karl Darlow, two of English football’s brightest talents, signed for Newcastle United over the summer, but their moves slipped largely under the radar as they were loaned straight back to Nottingham Forest during then-manager Alan Pardew’s squad overhaul at St James’ Park.
Newcastle beat the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United to the signatures of the pair: Lascelles is a centre-back capped by the England under-21s; Darlow is a goalkeeper so confident that he turned down the chance to play for Wales in the hope of being called up to the England squad. These to have a bright future ahead of them.
Under the guidance of Executive Super-Scout Graham Carr, The Magpies love unearthing diamonds in the rough, the latest of whom, Ayoze Perez, plucked from Tenerife of the Spanish second tier, has wowed the Premier League this season with five goals so far and some superlative displays.
Lascelles and Darlow were gleaming diamonds and well-known names in English football, yet The Magpies pulled off their signature move—spotting potential and moving in on talent early, doing the transfer groundwork and, with a proven track record for providing a springboard to the Premier League stage, got their men.
Karl Darlow, 24, has solid football ancestry both internationally and in the North-East—his grandfather, Ken Leek, travelled with Wales to the 1958 World Cup and can boast scoring a hat-trick for Newcastle United on his debut in 1961. Darlow himself was courted by Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs before they were all beaten to it by the Magpies. He has played twenty-six games in all competitions for Nottingham Forest this season, and has looked commanding throughout. Goalkeepers tend to peak late, and he has a good decade of top flight football ahead of him.
Lascelles is a fledgling defender who, prior to signing for Newcastle, was linked with transfers to both Manchester United and Arsenal. Nottingham Forest have had a very inconsistent season, but whenever the youngster has been given a chance, he has looked very solid and composed indeed. England boss Roy Hodgson promoted him to train with the full squad in November to coincide with his 21st birthday, demonstrating how highly rated he is.
Stuart Pearce was furious when the pair were sold without his knowledge shortly after taking over the reins at The City Ground, saying:
“I was asked whether I thought the deal was a good one and said definitely not. The first I heard they were sold was this morning. It was not my decision. It’s a financial one. But I think it is a poor deal. I felt the players would be worth more.”
That former England Captain and Under 21 Manager Pearce believed the pair to have been sold cheaply at a combined £7M puts their value a lot higher. Certainly Lascelles’ value could be £7M alone after he was drafted into the England squad. Possessing pace and an ability to read the game, Lascelles has been compared to Rio Ferdinand and even Vincent Kompany with his all-action defending.
Darlow, 24, offers quality distribution and a commanding box presence, excelling at collecting and catching crosses and long balls, as well as possessing an ability to save penalties. He will put real pressure on Tim Krul for the no. 1 goalkeeper’s jersey when he arrives at St James’ Park in summer and will leap ahead of Robbie Elliot in the pecking order.
Newcastle also possess Jak Alnwick, who started well when thrown into the deep end, helping the Magpies end Chelsea’s unbeaten record in December, but made a costly error away to Spurs when they crashed out of the League Cup at White Hart Lane, losing 4-1.
Lascelles has only played half the games in Forest’s season as Pearce sought a long-term solution to the imminent loss of his two best players. He will have a proper chance to stake his claim in the Toon back four when he joins permanently in summer becoming a Magpies centre-back in competition with Fabricio Coloccini, Mike Williamson and Steven Taylor following the sale of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa to Roma in January.
Newcastle United’s transfer policy has definitely changed direction in recent years away from a foreign, predominantly French, market towards a more balanced English base with the acquisition of Jack Colback and now two English starlets.
Make no mistake about it, Magpies fans have two real players to look forward to when Lascelles and Darlow finally make the step up to the big time their talent and efforts richly deserve—it’s just a question of being able to see through the Forest to the trees.
Thank you for reading. Follow me @ultrastartime. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands at r/football.
