Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles has opened up on how he was scouted by Arsenal, claiming that Everton were another highly-interested suitor in trying to sign him.
Speaking to the Getting Messi Podcast (via HITC), Lascelles spoke with podcaster and journalist Blake Fallows and non-league footballer Jake Dodds about his early career.
Born in Derby, Lascelles was a youth product of the Rams’ arch-rivals Nottingham Forest but made the move to Tyneside in 2014 after three years at the City Ground.
Now Newcastle’s captain and a St James’ Park stalwart, Lascelles commented that both Arsenal and Everton were ‘definitely’ interested around the time he opted to move to Newcastle.
The 27-year-old revealed he even spent time at the Toffees’ training ground, saying:
The Arsenal interest, it was there. I think it was definitely there. I cannot remember who my agent was at the time.
But not much was fed back to me because I was 18 and concentrating on my job. My Dad wanting it to not affect me or my ego. That was kind of kept away from me.
The Everton thing, I actually went to the Everton training ground and had a look around and stuff. They were interested. I am not sure why it didn’t happen but they were interested as well. As a kid, there has always been paper talk and speculation.
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This news is a credit to Everton’s scouts at the time; Lascelles is a proven Premier League operator with 115 top-flight appearances and is one of the more reliable players for Steve Bruce’s side.
Perhaps Arsenal and Everton could revisit their old interests. After all, both teams sought a new defender this year, with the Gunners signing Gabriel from Lille and the Toffees opting for Ben Godfrey from relegated Norwich.
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