The curious case of Newcastle’s £15m flop - What happened?

Jamal Lewis looks to have completed a loan move to Brazilian side Sao Paulo, meaning he's almost certainly played his last game for Newcastle United with his contract expiring next summer. This then presents the perfect opportunity to look back on what can be classed as a failed career on Tyneside.

Signing for the club back in 2020, Lewis joined with hope and expectations as we looked to have beaten off firm interest from high-flying Liverpool to capture his signature on a five year deal. He proved to be the sixth most expensive signing of the Mike Ashley era, with a fee reported of £15million to acquire his services from Norwich.

This move came to fruition after he starred in Norwich's back line in the 19/20 Premier League season and their Championship title winning season in 18/19. The Canaries' relegation in 19/20 opened the door for Lewis' departure and although it looked set he was to join Liverpool to become Andrew Robertson's understudy, the Magpies swooped in and got the highly rated attacking left back through the door.

However, despite the excitement around his move to the North East, he struggled to hit the ground running as performances were often unconvincing and jaded. This quickly lead to him falling out of favour under Steve Bruce.

Fast forward 18 months - under Howe in January of 2022 - and he had been omitted from the 25-man Premier League squad for the remainder of the season. A fairly unsuccessful loan at Watford last season hammered home the fact that he had no place in our squad nowadays as he looks to depart the club permanently, likely on a free, next year.

So, what went wrong?

A multitude of factors can be attributed to his unfortunate downfall, one being the setup he was introduced to when he first joined Newcastle. It was a toxic environment from top to bottom, featuring huge fan unrest at the continued ownership of Ashley and co, making it an extremely tough place to thrive in for a talented young player.

This was accompanied by a very poor manager at the helm in Steve Bruce. Negative football hindered Lewis' ability to go forward and be an attacking threat, as we saw from him at Norwich. With these capabilities mostly squashed under a defensive approach, his defensive flaws began to become clear.

Poor performances obviously followed as he never could seem to get out of the rut. Injuries hampered him too which really did not help his confidence levels as he clearly started to show he lacked the self belief that he was good enough, a dangerous mindset to be in as a young player.

The promise was therefore never lived up to, upon his arrival he was touted as the next best Premier League full-back as we looked to have made a step in the right direction. However tough working conditions partnered with football to the opposite of his strengths led to his unfortunate demise as he looks to resurrect his career in Brazil.

Here's hoping his can find his feet in Sao Paulo and he can rediscover the form that won him his move to Newcastle after what must have been a challenging past few years for the Northern Ireland international.