Though there's been nothing by way of official confirmation, Jamaal Lascelles and Karl Darlow are Newcastle United players (barring some paperwork delays of some description - possibly linked to Stuart Pearce's very public tantrum about them being sold from under him). That's according to Sky Sports' Graeme Bailey, the man with his finger on the pulse for all matters North Eastern... https://twitter.com/GraemeBailey/status/497725511884623872 So we can expect those deals to be confirmed very soon - as long as neither of them are planning on taking any phonecalls from Harry Redknapp at the last minute like Loic Remy did at the same stage of his move to Newcastle two years ago, that is. The news is that the pair will sign 7 year contracts at the club - presumably including their one year loan back to Forest for the coming season - making them the only players currently on the books at St. James' Park who would definitely outstay manager Alan Pardew if all contracts stayed the same. Depending on how the season starts though, that could be said of even those with a single year left on their contracts as Pardew faces unprecedented pressure from the boardroom level - particularly with the number of new signings brought into the club. Lascelles and Darlow will very much be ones for the future, with Lascelles likely to be fighting for first team straight away next season with Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini in the last years of their current deals (and limited chance either would receive or accept new offers). Clearly, the club are once more planning for the long-haul having not signed any players over their infamous 25-year-old limit, and in signing two of the country's top talents, they're making a statement of intent. Let's just hope they continue to progress under Pearce at Forest next year.
