Full-back Jamal Lewis is looking to improve in his second season at Newcastle United.
The star signed last year from Norwich City, in a deal worth around £15 million. The total could eventually reach £20 million (BBC Sport).
The signing was hailed as a coup by the Magpies.
Lewis had been a standout performer in the Norwich City side that got relegated in 2020, along with fellow full-back Max Aarons.
2020/21 would unfortunately be a season of struggle for Lewis though.
He ended up losing his place towards the end of the season to Matt Ritchie.
According to The Athletic, Lewis ‘dominates aerobic drills’ and ‘wins all fitness runs’.
When warming down, he’s given his own programme as he is so much faster than the others.
So when Lewis got Covid, which was revealed in February, his physical attributes took a big hit.
The player told the publication: “I came back too fast. I just wasn’t ready. I had no energy, I was lethargic and I was feeling this for a good four-to-six weeks.”
Lewis will come good
2020/21 was tough for Lewis, but really it’s not his fault.
A big part of his game is bombing up and down the wing, so it is little wonder Covid made life tough for him.
Ex-Magpie John Anderson says of the player: “Jamal is not the finished article but he has all the potential and, in a few years, he could be a very good left-back.”
And the 23-year-old’s former academy manager at Luton Town Gregg Broughton described him as ‘mentally driven’.
2021/22 is a fresh start, and hopefully he can nail down that spot at left-back again.
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