Nottingham Forest academy produced a future Newcastle United star – now he’s clubless at 32 | OneFootball

Jamaal Lascelles was once a rising star in the EFL at Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United but he is clubless after leaving Leicester City.

Jamaal Lascelles came through the ranks at Nottingham Forest and went on to become a centre-back that would play in the UEFA Champions League - but now he is clubless.

Born in Derby, Jamaal Lascelles joined Nottingham Forest as a youth prospect and went on to make his professional debut with the two-time European champions in 2011-12 season.

Lascelles would go on to become a key man for and the club captain of Newcastle United over the next decade or so - but things are very different now.

A return to the East Midlands, joining Leicester City in January, has not gone well as a one-time EFL hotshot and stalwart finds himself without a club.

The rise of Jamaal Lascelles at Nottingham Forest

Prior to making his first-team debut at Forest, it was reported that Lascelles was the subject of an eventually rejected £5 million bid from Arsenal.

An England youth international, Lascelles went on to make his debut for Forest in January 2012 before moving to then League One side Stevenage on loan in March.

Having returned after an impressive stint with 'Boro in which they reached the play-off semi-finals, Lascelles and signed a new contract at Forest but he remained on the periphery of things at the City Ground before establishing himself as a key man alongside Jack Hobbs at the back during the 2013-14 campaign.

Becoming a key man for Newcastle

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A wanted man as he rose from England's U18 setup through to the U21's in 2014; Lascelles had become one of the most highly-rated young defenders in the then Football League.

Courted by the likes of Everton and the at-the-time still free spending and ambitious Queens Park Rangers; Lascelles did make a Premier League move in the summer of 2014.

Lascelles and teammate Karl Darlow signed for Newcastle United but were loaned back to Forest for the season, where he continued to be a key part of the first-team under the management of Stuart Pearce and then Dougie Freedman.

A bit-part player upon return to St James' Park as Newcastle succumbed to Premier League relegation in the 2015-16 season; Lascelles truly established himself as a key cog in the 2016-17 campaign.

A collapse at the end from the already automatically promoted Brighton and Hove Albion allowed Newcastle to pinch the Championship title on the final day of the season - and Lascelles was the man that skippered that resurgence, making 43 appearances in the second-tier as Newcastle conceded just 40 goals in 46 games with the joint-best defensive record alongside Brighton, under the management of Rafa Benitez.

Lascelles remained the club captain as Newcastle returned to the top-flight and was again imperative in stabilising them back in the Premier League and remaining key to their survival in the 2021-22 campaign - season that saw the Saudi-led Public Investment Fund takeover of the club and the appointment of Eddie Howe.

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Having been handed the captaincy and trusted by former Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez and then remaining the pillar in defence for Steve Bruce, Eddie Howe and injuries in particular did begin to phase Lascelles out.

Despite those injuries, though, and the fact that Newcastle would now go on to spend big with the Saudi Arabian funding, Lascelles remained a key man and the club captain.

Club captain at a time in which Newcastle went from relegation battlers to UEFA Champions League qualifiers and even trophy winners as they won the 2025 EFL Cup with a 2-1 defeat of Liverpool in the final at Wembley Stadium, lifting the trophy alongside Kieran Trippier - albeit that being in a season where Lascelles' injury issues and falling down the pecking order saw him fail to make a single appearance across all competitions.

The 2025-26 campaign would be the last that Lascelles started at Newcastle as he departed the club mid-way through it to join Forest's East Midlands rivals Leicester.

The Foxes succumbed to back-to-back relegations, heading down into League One for the first time in 15 years with Lascelles unable to stop their fall despite nine appearances in the second half of the season - as many league appearances as he had made for Newcastle in total in three of the previous four campaigns.

Following Leicester's humiliating relegation, Lascelles departed the King Power Stadium and has yet to find a club for his services.

Those services being someone who was clearly valued enough to be stuck by during a transformative at Newcastle and once was one of the more highly-rated defenders coming out of the Championship - now with vast amounts of pedigree and experience - albeit also ageing, injury prone and very recently highly paid.