Jamal Lewis is somewhat of a forgotten man at Newcastle United having made just one Premier League appearance this season, but that’s not stopped him striding into Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland team.
Things haven’t exactly gone to plan for Newcastle’s £15million man since he made the move from Norwich to Tyneside back in 2020.
Poor form, injuries and incoming transfers have limited Lewis’ game time at Newcastle and even though he’s part of Eddie Howe’s 25-man squad this season, he’s made just three appearances in all competitions.
Jamal Lewis has shown his versatility
Signed as a left-back, Lewis has shown his versatility at club level playing on the left wing for Newcastle on several occasions, which is where he found himself playing for Northern Ireland last night as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Finland.
After playing 74 minutes in the 2-0 win over San Marino on Thursday, Lewis played the entire match on their home turf but wasn’t able to help his side bag their second win in their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
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Lewis was involved in a decent chance towards the end of the game, dragging a right-footed shot wide from inside the box following a corner. Ultimately earning himself a score of 7/10 by Belfast Live as they said he “Grew into the game provided width down the left”.
Given how little football he’s played this season it’s impressive to see Lewis come through the two games with so many minutes under his belt and it could give Eddie Howe something to think about to mix things up in the last few games of the season.
Could Lewis feature again for Newcastle?
There was a feeling amongst fans that Newcastle had been found out when they went on their winless run at the start of the year. The lineup was becoming predictable as was the way we were playing.
It wasn’t all down to Howe, of course, as we had injuries and suspensions to contend with. With some big games to come in the run up to the end of the season, maybe there’s scope for Howe to keep the opposition guessing and give Lewis a chance to earn his place in the squad next season.
That being said, it does seem very unlikely that will happen. Lewis looks set to be a casualty of the summer rebuild, even saying so himself as he reflected on his dark days at Newcastle, he hinted that he’ll be looking at his future come the end of the season.
Lewis came to Newcastle with bags of promise but it just never worked out for him, it’ll be a shame to see him go out with a whimper.