The Newcastle United star out of contract in 2024 who Eddie Howe wants to keep

Eddie Howe believes Jamaal Lascelles has a long-term future at Newcastle United as the defender enters the remaining six months of his contract.

The Magpies' skipper made just 11 appearances last season, only five of which were starts, but has returned to the fold on a more consistent basis in recent months in the absence of Sven Botman.

Indeed, Lascelles has enjoyed his best run in the starting line-up for over a year-and-a-half having appeared 20 times so far this term, one more than the total he accumulated between February 2022 to September 2023.

The 30-year-old is into his ninth full season as a Newcastle player after joining from Nottingham Forest. Lascelles has amassed nearly 250 appearances, the majority of which have come as club captain.

Lascelles is out of contract this summer but Howe is keen for him to extend his stay.

"Jamaal has done really, really well this season, I think his game has come on in lots of different ways," said Howe. "Firstly defensively, aerially he has always been very strong, which you've seen in recent game against Fulham.

"I think his defensive understanding of what we want him to do has been very good from day one. His use of the ball has improved, he looks really comfortable in the team at the moment and he's playing some really good football.

"I'm unsure on contract talks with Jamaal. I'm trying to rack my brains to where his contract is at but I think he is part of our long-term future for sure."

A banner featuring the words "Championship to Champions League" was unveiled by United fan group Wor Flags prior to this month's 3-0 victory over Fulham, a sentence that simply sums up Lascelles' journey on Tyneside.

When Lascelles led Newcastle out against AC Milan on Wednesday, it was a day shy of being exactly seven years since he played in a 2-0 away win at Wigan Athletic in England's second tier.

Lascelles was recently quizzed on his future, and while he admitted to loving life at St James' Park, he did not confirm whether a new deal was in the pipeline.

"I absolutely love it here," Lascelles told Premier League Productions. "I've been here for a long time, I think it's eight years as captain. I've been here a really long time, not many players really do that. I love it.

"Now that I'm in the team and got a run of games, I feel in a really good place. We'll see, I'm just focusing on trying to do as well as I can."