Eddie Howe breaks silence on why Lloyd Kelly hasn’t played for Newcastle United for almost six weeks

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Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has opted not to play Lloyd Kelly since November.

The 26-year-old summer signing was in and out of the Newcastle United team at the start of the season, but is now very much out of the picture.

Lloyd Kelly has been a consistent figure on the Toon bench for almost six weeks now, with the defender not playing since Newcastle’s 2-0 defeat to West Ham.

On that night, Dan Burn was suspended. It was a great chance for Kelly to come into the side and prove he should start more regularly. Unfortunately for him, Kelly wasted his opportunity.

Since that defeat at St James’ Park, the Magpies have played eight times with Kelly not featuring at all.

Eddie Howe comments on Lloyd Kelly not playing for Newcastle United

Now the Newcastle United manager has explained why Kelly has not been playing, as he spoke to the media ahead of the Magpies’ Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

Howe was asked about Kelly’s ‘limited opportunities’.

“They have, but that’s been down to the form of the lads who have played,” he said.

“Lloyd is a versatile player. He can play in a number of positions.

“The form of Dan [Burn] and Fabian [Schar] at the heart of the defence has been really strong, especially as of late. We’ve looked good defensively.

“That’s always a position where it’s difficult for me to rotate too much. I prefer to keep a settled back four and not chop and change. The stability of your team is based on relationships.

“But Lloyd is training hard, he’s training very well and he’s waiting for his chance.”

Big Newcastle opportunity ahead of a tough 2025 for Kelly

While Kelly has not played for Newcastle since November 25th 2024, that could be about to change.

Fabian Schar is suspended for the Magpies’ game against Tottenham Hotspur, while he will also sit out the following match – the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg away to Arsenal.

It is a big opportunity for Kelly, who features in our predicted Newcastle XI to face Spurs.

He looks most likely to come into the side, despite Sven Botman now being available.

However, it would be a huge surprise if Howe immediately thrust Botman back into the starting XI for a high pressure Premier League game away from home. Instead, he is more likely to take a seat on the bench.

But his presence is an issue for Kelly, as his limited opportunities in black and white could become even more limited.

With 2025 upon us and Botman fit once again, Kelly’s best hope of playing for the Magpies could be at left-back, where Lewis Hall is operating at an extremely high level.