Jamal Lewis cut from Newcastle squad just 18 months after reported Liverpool bid

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Jamal Lewis is out of the Newcastle United squad, just 18 months after Liverpool tried to sign him. The Reds struck gold with Kostas Tsimikas.

The Express reports that Newcastle United have told Jamal Lewis that he’s out of their Premier League squad for the rest of the season. It’s a huge blow for a player who only joined the Magpies in September 2020 for £15m.

But both Dan Burn and Matt Targett arrived on deadline day, forcing Lewis out of Eddie Howe’s plans. It now appears that Trabzonspor may try and sign Lewis before the Turkish transfer window closes.

It’s also an interesting one for Liverpool. Per the BBC, the Reds actually bid for Lewis before he joined Newcastle but saw Norwich reject their £10m offer.

Liverpool would turn around and sign Kostas Tsimikas instead. On the face of it, that was an incredible decision.

Jamal Lewis cut from Newcastle squad

This isn’t to pile in on Lewis, with this being a huge blow for any player. Newcastle haven’t exactly been a club ripe for growth over the last 18 months and it shouldn’t be any real surprise that he hasn’t kicked on.

But in comparison, Tsimikas has been absolutely fantastic this season after a slow first campaign. He looks like one of the better left-backs in the league, in fact, and has put genuine pressure on Andy Robertson.

Now, we do think Lewis would have progressed into being a much better player if he’d move to Anfield. In fact, we have little doubt of that. The Reds’ record with players is far superior to Newcastle’s.

As things are, though, Liverpool have ended up with a brilliant left-back, while Lewis is struggling. It’s hard to see that as anything but a win for the Reds – though, we hope the Englishman can get back on track soon. He’s a good player – Liverpool wanted him for a reason, after all.