Rafa Benitez is confident that Jamaal Lascelles will be at the club next season, despite interest from the Premier League top six.
Liverpool have joined the list of clubs that are interested in signing the 24-year-old with Benitez not surprised that he his gaining this much attention.
Speaking to Chronicle Live, Benitez was full of praise for his captain:
I think he will stay here, and hopefully for the long term.
He has huge potential and big clubs will look at him because he is a young, English centre-back.
It is not easy to find good centre-backs who can play well in the Premier League, especially not English ones, and it’s even harder to find young ones.
He has all the attributes to be a target for all top teams because you can see from his performances over the last two years he keeps getting better and better.
But I think that for his future, and for his development, that he stays in a place where he can play and he can improve and continue to keep getting better with us.
Premier League sides must have a certain percentage of their squad homegrown, so talented English players will always be targeted by top-six sides.
Lascelles was a hugely important player for the Magpies this year and has had a big part to play in their 10th place finish upon their return to the Premier League.
Lascelles featured 33 times in the Premier League this season and believes that he can be part of the process of getting the club back up to the top end of the Premier League:
This is the right club for me at the right time. We have a huge fanbase, an amazing manager, and this club is massive. It has so much history.
As captain, I want to see how far we can go – and potentially take it back to where it belongs.
Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton and West Ham United are also being linked with the player but it looks like Lascelles isn’t keen on a move away from St James Park anytime soon.
