Chris Waugh has been speaking on Pod on the Tyne about how he’s worried for the future of Jamal Lewis.
The left-back was signed from Norwich City last summer as Steve Bruce looked to bring in more British players with top-flight experience, but it didn’t quite go to plan for Lewis, who featured heavily at the beginning of the campaign before being shunned to the bench by Matt Ritchie, and that theme has continued into this campaign.
Who is a better left back?
Ritchie!
Lewis!
Lewis was not a cheap and low-cost signing by the Magpies – they had to shell out £15 million to Norwich – and Waugh has highlighted his concerns for the defender, who is now struggling to dislodge Ritchie from left-back, despite the Scotsman being a natural right-sided midfielder.
Waugh discussed Lewis and his Newcastle future.
“If Jamal Lewis can’t play in a [back] four at this moment in time, we do question again, where is he going to play? That’s another strange signing, that was more than a year ago now, Newcastle paid £15 million for Jamal Lewis and we’ve barely seen him in 2021, so that is concerning.
“I don’t really understand that as an option. I mean, I don’t see him in training every week, Steve Bruce hasn’t spoken that much about Jamal Lewis recently.
“But you have to be concerned if Matt Ritchie, who really is a right-winger by trade is playing left-back ahead of Jamal Lewis when he’s fit, and I think that is a cause for concern as to how they see Jamal Lewis developing.”
TIF Thoughts on Lewis…
It will surely be a frustrating time for Lewis, who has not started a league game for the Magpies since 27th February, which was a 1-1 draw with Wolves, but given how poorly Newcastle are doing in defence this season, the Northern Ireland international will be hoping for a fair chance in the near future.
With the next World Cup just over a year away, Lewis will be desperate to get back to playing regular first-team football if he’s wanting to feature for Northern Ireland, but when he gets a chance, he’s got to prove his worth. Last season, he failed to put up anywhere near good enough numbers, with just one assist to his name – and managed to start just three games that resulted in Newcastle picking up a clean sheet.
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