£15m down the drain: £50k-p/w Newcastle flop has been stealing a living for 74 weeks - opinion

The January transfer window proved to everyone just how capable Newcastle United’s new owners are when it comes to splashing the cash and bringing new players to the club who they believe will strengthen the squad.

However, only time will tell whether or not the new faces at St James’ Park will ultimately be successful, especially with relegation still a possibility for the Tyneside club.

Prior to the takeover at Newcastle, one previous transfer which hasn’t been particularly successful as of yet is Jamal Lewis’ move from Norwich City.

The Magpies signed the left-back 74 weeks ago in September 2020 in a deal worth a reported fee of £15m. Since then, the 24-year-old has made just 32 appearances for the Toon across all competitions.

In his debut campaign at Newcastle, the defender – who is currently picking up a hefty wage of £50k-per-week according to Salary Sport – played in 24 of their 38 league games but found himself out of the team towards the end of the campaign with just a solitary six-minute appearance in their final 12 games of the season.

His league performances last term earned the Northern Irishman an overall rating of 6.34/10, making him one of Newcastle’s lowest-rated players according to WhoScored, which shows that he didn’t exactly hit the ground running in a Toon shirt.

This season has also been rather unimpressive for the former Norwich man, with just five league appearances and an overall performance rating of 6.33/10 under his belt, further highlighting how disappointing he has been for Newcastle and why it now looks like £15m may have been a waste of money.

Along with his poor performances on the pitch, injuries have hampered his time at Newcastle, which will have been frustrating for the player, the