It was a pretty big deal the day that Newcastle United won the race to sign Jamal Lewis for £15million from Norwich City.
Even on the back of lockdown gloom and amid the unhappy latter years of the Mike Ashley era, there was a little bit of optimism in the air when Northern Ireland international Lewis joined Ryan Fraser, Callum Wilson and Jeff Hendrick in a summer shopping spree that was deemed one of the better ones under the Sports Direct magnate.
Lewis would have been a Liverpool player just weeks earlier had the Kop side saw a £10million bid accepted for his services. Instead, the Reds refused to raise their stake, Newcastle paid the asking price and the pacy full-back was suddenly looking forward to a different challenge under Steve Bruce.
