Report: Jamaal Lascelles is likely to retain Newcastle captaincy over Kieran Trippier

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The future of the captain’s armband at Newcastle United is a topic of debate for supporters going into the new season.

Jamaal Lascelles has held the armband since the summer of 2016, completing six years as Toon skipper.

He’s been an excellent leader during a difficult period for the club, but his position is suddenly under threat.

Lascelles is no longer a guaranteed starter at St James’ Park since the turn of the year. Dan Burn’s arrival, the renaissance of Fabian Schar and now the signing of Sven Botman mean Lascelles is probably Eddie Howe’s fourth choice centre-back.

Our captain is no longer the first name on the team sheet. In fact, he’s getting further and further away from the starting XI.

There’s been talk of an exit from St James’ Park, but that feels unlikely. However, Howe will still need to address the captaincy issue.

Lascelles set to stay and keep the captain’s armband

According to the Athletic, the 28-year-old will likely remain a Newcastle player. They state that Howe isn’t looking to sell him, and he isn’t looking to leave.

That then leads into another issue, because changing captain would be easy if Lascelles had left the club.

However, the Athletic add that he will likely retain the role of squad captain even if he’s not playing every week. They state that while £12million signing Kieran Trippier might wear the armband on more occasions, Lascelles will still be official captain.

That’s probably for the best, and should actually benefit the squad.

If Howe were to keep Lascelles at the club but drop him as captain it would create unnecessary tension within the club. But nor should he be guaranteed to play just because he’s the skipper.

Lascelles’ leadership has been important in recent years, and he should be allowed to continue in that role. In fact, his job should become easier with more leaders joining the club.

Trippier is a leader and acts like a captain, while senior players Callum Wilson and Jonjo Shelvey have also stepped up. Howe has multiple leaders within his squad, all of which are pulling in the same direction.

Fans might want Trippier to be named the club captain, but taking the armband off of Lascelles would be a mistake.