£15m man facing more transfer uncertainty after Newcastle United contract call & hamstring injury
.jpg?width=96&crop=1:1,smart)
Newcastle United latest news: One former Newcastle United defender is facing yet more transfer uncertainty following his release by the Magpies.
Jamal Lewis is facing more transfer uncertainty with his short-term deal at Preston North End coming to a close.
The former Newcastle United defender moved to Deepdale as a free agent at the end of October following a five-year spell as a Newcastle United player. The Northern Ireland international was released by the Magpies during the summer following the expiration of his contract with the club.
Lewis hadn’t featured in the Premier League for the Magpies since May 2023 and was not included in Eddie Howe’s 25-man Premier League squad for the second half of last season following his return from a loan spell at Brazilian side Sao Paulo. Lewis reportedly had interest from European clubs in his services following his departure from St James’ Park, but ultimately moved to Lancashire to continue his career in the Championship.
Lewis, now 27, immediately became an important part of Paul Heckingbottom’s squad at Deepdale, featuring in six-straight Championship outings, with two of those coming as a starter. However, Lewis then suffered a hamstring injury just 17 minutes after coming on during a game against Sheffield Wednesday last month and has not been seen in action since that day.
With his short-term deal at the club due to come to an end this month, Lewis’ future remains up in the air with Heckingbottom’s assistant, Stuart McCall, admitting that they are yet to make a decision on the defender’s long-term future: “Yeah, he was out on the grass yesterday doing a bit, so I think he'll be maybe a maximum of two weeks,” McCall told the Lancashire Post after Preston’s win at Oxford United on Saturday.
The Gazette has launched a new WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our NUFC WhatsApp channel.
“He's a good to have around the place as well, a good pro, and we'll just have to see on that one.”
Jamal Lewis’ future at Preston North End
Before suffering injury at Hillsborough, Heckingbottom had revealed that he was interested in tying Lewis down to a longer-term permanent deal: “Definitely be open to it,” said Heckingbottom.
“It is still early days but I’d definitely be open to it. We've been really pleased with him. I think it's credit to him.
“You can see he's kept fit. He came in and I know he'd been playing football, but obviously not to the level and demands of the Championship and international football.
“Because of how naturally fit he is for one, but two, how much physical exertion he's been doing, even though he's not been at a club, we could get him straight into training.
“We could use him for 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 60 minutes. Then he went away and played 80.
“International football, more training in the camp when we were a bit more down time, so I think that probably did him good as well. And then, yeah, I had no qualms about needing him for 90 if we did do the night. So, he's settled in well and we're really pleased with him.”
During his time on Tyneside, Lewis made just 36 appearances in all competitions. That was two fewer than he made during a one-year loan spell at Watford during the 2023/24 campaign.