Jamaal Lascelles spoke to Sky Sports after the takeover of Newcastle, which Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund backs. On Monday, he met the club’s part-owners Amanda Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi at the Magpies’ training facility.
The center-back said that he was at home with his kids and his partner when Staveley called him. He hadn’t saved her number, which made him exclaim, “Amanda, who?!”
The Newcastle co-owner gave a brief introduction about herself to Lascelles, after which she spoke to him about the takeover that was going to be confirmed within the next 30 minutes.
“I really appreciated it. It made me feel involved. I got goosebumps,”
said the Derby-born defender.
He also mentioned that the owners met the players on Monday and seemed like really genuine people. Owners of football clubs are often aloof from the actual happenings of the team and are only in it for the money. However, Lascelles felt that the new owners wanted to “build a relationship and communication with us.”
Newcastle is currently 19th on the Premier League table and hasn’t won a single league game this season. Their previous owner, Mike Ashley, was regularly criticised by the fans as they believed he wasn’t correctly running the football club.
Lascelles also expressed empathy for current manager Steve Bruce, who is expected to be replaced soon as the owner’s ambitions will be much higher now.
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Newcastle will face Tottenham tomorrow. St. James Park is expected to be bouncing with expectancy and enthusiasm as they enter a new era.
“It gives us that mentality shift and extra drive to impress – everyone is playing for a future – and match the ambition. We all want to be a part of it and hopefully it gives us an extra edge to get a result on Sunday,”
the 27-year-old added.
