IN many ways, considering what has happened at Newcastle United over the course of this summer, it would not have been a surprise to see Jamaal Lascelles depart.

Instead, with less than a week remaining of the transfer window, it seems more and more likely that Lascelles will be staying put. In fact, it is hard to imagine how Rafa Benitez could cope with losing him now, regardless of the money his sale would rake in.

West Ham might have tested the water, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea are among those known to be keen, but the near £50m valuation of Newcastle’s skipper has proven enough to put everyone off. For now.

Lascelles is certainly not concerned about that, and is focused on trying to be the captain Benitez wants him to be.

The pair have worked well together in the two-and-a-half years they have had at St James’ Park, and Lascelles has clearly become a better player.

So much faith has been shown in the 24-year-old and he has responded by becoming the respected and well liked leader of a dressing room with a very united team spirit.

Given the events of what has happened outside of those walls and away from the pitch during that time, it is little wonder the job he has done and the success he has enjoyed has made other clubs take real notice.

And yet Lascelles has stayed strong and remains focused on leading Newcastle into his third full season as captain, ignoring what problems Benitez has had in his contract talks and on the transfer front to stay behind the Spaniard.

The former Nottingham Forest defender is only focused on trying to improve again and shine in front of the Newcastle fans he has got close to, even if it is going to be hard for the team to do better than winning promotion and finishing second in the Premier League during his first two years wearing the armband.

“I’m happy here, I’m a Newcastle player, I’m still tied down to a long contract,” said Lascelles. “It’s about having a good pre-season and starting the season well.

“I’m playing every week, the fans love me, for me to lose that would be quite upsetting. Obviously I am captain too.

“I’ve always had a bit of speculation, since I was 16 there have been teams interested. My dad has always said to me, ‘concentrate on your football and that will take care of itself’. At the minute I am just working hard.

“I have played a lot of games. I am 24 and it’s important for me to carry on playing games because that’s how you develop.”

When Benitez first took over in the ill-fated top-flight campaign of 2015-16 he was quick to make Lascelles the captain, having seen what he was around the place and heard how he stood up in front more senior players to air his frustrations during an away defeat at Southampton.

The dressing room spirit that year was incredibly fractured and Benitez’s decision to hand Lascelles the captaincy on a full-time basis that summer, ahead of the Championship title charge, proved a masterstroke.

The defender has since been instrumental in keeping the mood sweet at the training ground and in the dressing rooms across the country; a major element of what Benitez has been keen to do, so the player’s role should not be under-estimated.

He said: “We play for one another. We play for the badge. We play for the fans and the staff and, of course, for our families.

“There’s not one player here that would try to just play here to try to get a move or for more or whatever. It’s not about that. We’re loyal.

“We’re a hard-working, young group of players, and it’s going to stay that way.”

With Lascelles in no rush to leave Newcastle, he knows the challenge is to build on what has already achieved so far.

The task of doing that has been made harder this year by Mike Ashley’s reluctance to loosen the purse strings for Benitez to invest in the squad.

There have been more additions over the last couple of weeks and there could be more before the window officially closes, provided more players depart to raise the finances. What remains the case, though, is that Benitez has not had the time he would have preferred in pre-season to bed in new players who he will have to rely on.

Lascelles, looking ahead to the opener with Tottenham next Saturday, has remained positive.

Having enjoyed the success of finishing in the top half last season, he thinks the mood within the camp since returning to training has been a real boost for everyone.

He said: “It’s nice to have been back in. I kind of missed it, to be honest. We’re just looking forward to getting the friendlies out of the way and making sure we’re flying for the first game of the season.

“Other boys at clubs tell me they just turn up, train and go home.

“But with us lot we had been looking forward to seeing each other. We don’t just shoot home when we are in.

“Even over the summer I seen a few of the boys. With this club we’ve got high team chemistry and everybody gets on. Which is why we had success last season … we want that to continue.”