Jamal Lewis can take hope from Joelinton’s turnaround in status at Newcastle United in the fight for his own future at the club. The Northern Irish international faces a big summer after a testing 21 months on Tyneside.
The left-back joined from Norwich City in September 2020 but has so far failed to hit the heights of his debut Premier League season with the Canaries. A mixture of poor form and injuries has left a question mark over his Toon future.
Having suffered an injury in the first few weeks of Eddie Howe’s reign, the 24-year-old required surgery and was then left out of the Premier League squad come to the turn of the year. Yet despite his poor start to life at Newcastle, there is hope that Howe can improve Lewis in the same way he did with Joelinton and Emil Krafth.
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Both men in a matter of months have gone from two of the most criticised players in black and white to being heavily praised for their performances in the second half of the 2021-22 campaign. Speaking on The Everything is Black and White Podcast, host Andrew Musgrove claimed their turnaround would give Lewis hope of something similar - something Newcastle United Editor Aaron Stokes agreed with.
“100%,” he said, “It gives Lewis hope that Howe is this miracle worker that can turn his career around. On the flip side let's say the takeover hadn't happened and we were here with an offer for Lewis - he might be going 'I'm going to be leaving this midtable team to go to another and show what I can do,' but now he has got the incentive to say 'I'm going to graft for my place' and show he deserves to be part of this team who ambitions to reach Europe.
“If he can do that and find that form that he showed while at Norwich, he's going to stay.”
Newcastle have signed Matt Targett on a permanent basis after the left-back impressed on loan having joined in January. Lewis would have to battle the former Aston Villa man for the spot in the starting eleven.
Howe has spoken positively about Lewis admitted that his luck with injuries has been 'frustrating' but that 'he’d love to see him back in pre-season and show us the player he can be.'
Stokes believes there is a chance for Lewis at Newcastle, "Eddie Howe is certainly willing to give him a try and any time he was asked about him in the last six months he has been very positive about him. He'll get the pre-season to show whether or not he's overcome this injury.
"They will give him a chance. Liverpool wanted him, he was fantastic at Norwich and Newcastle thought they had a real steal on their hands when they signed him. It's just been unfortunate that he's not been given the game time or been injured."
