When Lloyd Kelly and Eddie Howe were reunited the conversation soon turned to tying up loose ends. “It definitely feels like we’ve got some unfinished business,” says Kelly. “That’s what we said when we first met up after I signed for Newcastle. It’s a mutual thing – we’re on the same page.”
The left-back or left-sided central defender was first introduced to Howe six years ago when the then Bournemouth manager recruited him from Bristol City and, given the pair’s mutual admiration, it is no surprise Lloyd has followed his mentor from the south coast to Tyneside.
After two months in his new habitat there is no sense of anticlimax. “I’m excited to be here, there’s a big buzz surrounding this club, a special atmosphere,” the 25-year-old says. “It’s a massive club but coming together again with Eddie Howe played a big part. Our relationship goes back a long way.”
It helps that he trusts Newcastle’s manager implicitly. “Our relationship at Bournemouth was a good one; I could always come to him if there was anything I needed,” he says. “The way he wanted to play his football was exciting and he always wants to improve his players.”
Since leaving Bournemouth, Howe has adapted to the latest tactical trends and become a high priest of pressing. “I’d say the key principles of how he wants his players to play and train have remained the same,” says Kelly. “But he’s tweaked his philosophy; I’m still getting to understand how he wants me to play in this team.”
Past Newcastle footballers have likened living in the city to existing in a goldfish bowl but Kelly remains undaunted. “I’ve spoken to a few of the players about this,” he says. “When I came up and looked around the city before signing I was getting recognised. It was a super-nice feeling.
“I understand it can be a very intense club to play for but I’ve 100% got the character and the personality to be able to cope with that. And everyone’s been so welcoming.”
The certainty in Kelly’s voice is that of a survivor. “I grew up in foster care from the age of six or seven, right up until 18,” he says. “It was something that shaped me.
“It gives you life lessons early on. It moulded me into who I am now and what I stand for. I wouldn’t change anything that happened in my childhood because I wouldn’t be sat here as a professional footballer today without it.
“It gives you resilience and strength. It teaches you that life may be hard, but you can push through and get out of certain situations. You’re always able to take something positive from every situation; it gives you that personal resilience, for sure.”
Although three separate foster families cared for Kelly, it helped that he always moved as part of a unit that comprised his older sister and younger brother. “It was thanks to my carers that I progressed through the football pathway,” he says. “They would take me to training, dragging my sister and brother with me. It was a blessing we were always together because you don’t see that very often, especially not with three children of different ages.
“We had three different families who looked after us. There was a bit of moving around. Like all siblings, we had our squabbles, but that bond between us will not be broken. The three of us are super-strong together.
“When we went into a different home the people caring for us had to earn the trust of all three of us. It was something that was difficult sometimes and I’m not sure, as a kid, I really understood it all. It’s only when you’ve grown up that you think about everything that happened. When you’re older, you know how much those people did for us and all the things they had to contend with. When you take kids in, you don’t know what to expect.”
For all his openness, Kelly prefers to keep the reasons behind the family’s move into care private. “That’s something I’ve left behind and I don’t dive into,” he says before emphasising his enduring gratitude to the foster system. “I’ve done a fair bit of work with foster agencies in Bristol and the council as well. I’m always an advocate for people to foster. It’s an incredible thing to do.
“Not everybody’s going to come out the other side of being in care, of being thrust into a completely new situation, as well as others, but being able to provide a loving home to someone, that means a hell of a lot.
“I want to be that voice for those kids and the carers too. I want to be an inspiration for kids in that situation. If you focus, if you put the hard work into something you want to do, don’t worry about the situation you’re in, you can push on and make something of yourself.
“I know where and what I came from, so I certainly appreciate the life I’m living now more. I know I’m very fortunate to be here. I’m very grateful.”
Not to mention ambitious. After representing England at Under-21 level, Kelly hopes to graduate to the senior side. “That’s always been in my mind,” he says. “The next World Cup is something I’d like to push for.”
