With Paul Dummett injured and no other natural left-back on our books, it looks very much like Jamal Lewis could be thrown straight into Steve Bruce’s side ahead of tonight’s game at the London Stadium.
Ahead of the game, we caught up with Norwich fan Andrew Dockerill (@dockerz77) to get the low down on our new £15m full-back.
Here’s what he had to say, praising the 22-year-old’s talent and temperament following his move to Tyneside – and revealing how his impressive history in 800m running could see him bomb up and down the line in a black and white shirt:
“Jamal is a big fan favourite with the Norwich fans. Coming through in tandem with Max Aarons, they really stood a level above in the championship, where they were both named in the Championship team of the season and performed consistently in the Premier League, albeit with a dire mix of CB’s inside him.
“His leaving was pretty expected and calculated for with the additions of Xavi Quintilla on loan and Sam McCallum, however there was laughter at the earlier offer of around £8m from Liverpool, with Klopp being a stated fan of Lewis and desired him as a rotation option for Robertson.
“Lewis’ skill lies in his remarkable engine and ability to run, a former English schools 800m runner and top 5 in the country for his age. He’s not the most physical guy but he’s consistent and rarely mistakes on the ball and had the ability to cross well.
“His work rate is sold. Again, that comes back to being a running champion as a kid, but the guy can run all day!
“He’s a good passer too and gets forward well, also being solid and consistent defensively. He’s super confident on the ball and rarely makes errors.
“Lewis has the ability to put in good balls to the box but doesn’t do it frequently enough as you’d like. That could be down to how terrible we were last year offensively, but even in the Championship he’d move it on to the winger on his side or whoever was in front rather than overlapping.
I’d like to see him have the confidence to bomb forward more like Max Aarons did on the right side, because he’s got an impressive turn of pace. It’s not instant but his top gear speed is very good and he can dribble well at pace.
“He’s very calm, grounded and a cool headed kid who’s fairly quiet and has recently become a full Northern Ireland international.
“I think £15m is fair, with incentives/sell on % in mind.
“He should fit into the left- back position well and gives your left winger more confidence to push forward.”
Follow us on Twitter (@NUFCBlogcouk) and on Facebook HERE
