'I've stitched myself up': Newcastle new signing Lloyd Kelly admits pre-season mistake despite impressing fans
Lloyd Kelly joked that he “stitched” himself up after performing an Adele song for his Newcastle teammates.
The defender met up with his former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe in St. James Park after arriving by free transfer.
talkSPORT understands that the 25-year-old interest rejected from Juventus and several other European teams to join the Magpies.
But he hopes to have better luck on the pitch than off it, as he revealed his usual opening song could have been better.
Speaking to talkSPORT about his performance, he joked: “It was okay, I give myself a five or six out of ten.
“I just shook it off. (I sang) Adele – Someone Like You – I sewed myself together.”
Kelly then backed up his position of playing a key role this season when commenting on the battle for a starting place alongside Sven Botman, Fabian Schar and captain Jamaal Lascelles.
He commented: “The competition for places is very high, of course, when you come to a club like this and go in one direction, all the places are available.
“You have to be at your best at all times, in training, in matches, of course I support myself (to be a starter).
“I want to do well at this football club, I want to impress and I want to show what I can do.
“Of course it's going to be difficult for all the defenders, everyone in the team knows it's going to be a difficult season, so I'm looking forward to the challenge.”
And Kelly has certainly made an impression on the club's supporters, who praised his abilities during pre-season.
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One particular moment in the recent 1-0 win over French side Brest had fans purring, when he assisted Harvey Barnes for the winning goal with an expert through ball.
Images of the pass quickly went viral, with one X user commenting: “Lloyd Kelly. That's a joke. Wow!”
Another messaged: “Hope to see more of this next season!”
A third added: “Well that was naughty.”
This fan then said: “Lloyd Kelly has a left foot like a Bugatti.”
Meanwhile, another simply said: “What a ball is this.”
Kelly could make his official debut for Newcastle against Southampton on Saturday – Live on talkSPORT 2.
