Newcastle United defender Jamaal Lascelles insists he is focused on doing well for the Magpies at present and noted that the transfer speculation surrounding him might not even be true.  

The 24-year-old defender is hot property this summer and has been linked with a number of clubs, including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United; it remains to be seen if the Hammers' interest is still active following the club signing centre-back Fabian Balbuena at the weekend.




Newcastle have set their face against selling Lascelles and he has jetted to Ireland with the club for their pre-season training camp.

The former Nottingham Forest man is determined not to be unsettled by transfer talk which he does not know is true and feels he has everything going for him at Newcastle.
 


He told BBC Newcastle: "I’m happy here; I’m the captain, the fans love me, I love the fans, I’m playing week in, week out.

"That’s where I’m at right now, and my main focus is getting fit, doing the pre-season games and the Tottenham game.

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"Nothing changes. The speculation might not even be true.

"Since I was a kid, there’s always been teams interested, speculation, paper talk and stuff on Twitter, and things like that.

"It doesn’t mean anything to me."

It is claimed that only a huge bid would force Newcastle to rethink their stance on keeping hold of Lascelles this summer.

Rafael Benitez's men have the defender locked down on a contract running until the summer of 2023, meaning they are under no pressure to cash in.

The Magpies skipper played a key role in making sure the club remained above the relegation fray in the Premier League last season.