Eddie Howe has backed Jamal Lewis to re-gain a prominent presence at Newcastle United if he stays fit and trains consistently after a solid pre-season, via quotes by Chronicle Live.
The defender has played no part in the Toon’s off-season schedule so far this summer. But Lewis has shown Howe he can still offer a physical option from full-back during training, as the 24-year-old bids to force his way back into the Magpies set up after a challenging year.
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Howe omitted Lewis from his 25-man squad when naming the Newcastle ranks that would contend the latter half of last term. He had emerged as the Toon’s likely first-choice at left-back early in December, but sustained a hamstring injury and later required groin surgery.
Lewis had struggled with his groin issue for over a year before undergoing the operation in March. Newcastle utilised Howe’s decision to omit the Northern Ireland international from of his Premier League plans to, hopefully, fix the problem for good for the 2022/23 season.
Eddie Howe urges Jamal Lewis to ‘show us what he’s capable of’ at Newcastle
While he is yet to step foot on the pitch during any of United’s friendlies, Lewis travelled to Austria and Portugal during their pre-season tours. Now, Howe may include the 23-cap ace in his 25-man side for the new Premier League term, with Matt Targett and Paul Dummett.
Howe is hopeful that Lewis could now put his fitness issues in the past as he can show why Newcastle paid Norwich City an initial £15m, rising to £20m with add-ons, for him in 2020.
“Jamal, we hope, can stay fit and show us what he’s capable of,” Howe said. “I believe in him as a player, but he’s just had really bad luck.
“He’s got a lot to offer physically, we’ve certainly seen that in pre-season – an incredible athlete. He needs consistency of training at the moment that he needs and, hopefully, he can get that.”
Lewis had faced an uncertain future at Newcastle earlier in the window with Howe buying Targett off Aston Villa for £15m following his loan spell. TEAMtalk also listed the defender as one of several players the Toon had up for sale, and cited interest from Middlesbrough.
But Lewis regaining fitness during pre-season could serve as a fresh start under Howe this term. He only made five appearances in the Premier League during 2021/22, starting four, with four games coming following the Magpies sacking Steve Bruce and appointing Howe.
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