The £40,000-a-week mystery hanging over Newcastle United and the likely resolution
Newcastle United's lack of action in the transfer window this month has been nothing short of infuriating from a fans' perspective.
There is a clear need for something new in the team as the current side has looked stale on more than one occasion.
Eddie Howe hasn't been helped with injuries, particularly in defence, but he's not being supported in the transfer market either. The club has the chance to inject some life into proceedings this month but aren't taking it.
Meanwhile, they aren't helping Howe by clearing out any of the dead wood, either. Freeing up squad space and, more importantly, room on the wage bill is essential. Eddie Howe keeps saying that PSR is a big concern, but there's a player picking up £40,000-a-week to do absolutely nothing.
Jamaal Lascelles isn't injured but also isn't training
By Eddie Howe's own admission (via The Chronicle), Jamaal Lascelles isn't injured, but also isn't available. Whatever that means.
"He's not training with us currently. He hasn't felt well enough physically to train . . . good enough. I don't necessarily think that he's injured in the sense that he's got one big injury, I just think his body's not feeling great.
"So he's not training with us currently. We hope that will change in the next few weeks. But yeah, there's a possibility that he could leave as well. Jamaal's been an incredible servant. He's a great leader for us behind the scenes. So, let's wait and see what happens on his future."
Jamaal Lascelles could be on his way out of Newcastle United
There's the potential that Lascelles is close to an exit and Newcastle are just making sure that he's fit enough to complete the move by keeping him out of the first team, but if that's not the case, then why are they entertaining him?
We will never forget what Lascelles did for this club, calling out the lazy players who weren't putting in the effort back in the day, but he's becoming everything that he hates by not being available for selection. Of course, there may be a reasonable explanation we're just not being told about.
There's still a week left of the transfer window, so there is still a chance that Lascelles could leave and that would create more headroom in the budget for summer spending, but if it doesn't happen, we really have to question what's going on with our transfer department. Regardless, Lascelles looks almost certain to leave in the summer when his contract expires.
