A major update has emerged on Newcastle United and their plans for left-back Jamal Lewis...

What's the talk?

Daily Mail reporter Craig Hope claimed on deadline day that the Northern Ireland international has been omitted from the club's list of players heading into the second-half of the campaign.

He Tweeted: "Also understand Ciaran Clark & Jamal Lewis have turned down moves away from NUFC despite not being in the 25-man squad to be submitted to Premier League."

D-Day clanger

Whilst fans may want to focus on transfers the club missed out on, such as the deal for Hugo Ekitike collapsing, this decision on Lewis' future represents a huge clanger from Eddie Howe.

Forget missing out on the French striker for now, the call to brutally axe the former Norwich defender from the squad appears to be a baffling one on paper.

Howe has seemingly decided to pick Matt Ritchie, 32, among others, ahead of him in the 25-man list. The 24-year-old is still a prospect and could have benefitted from battling with Matt Targett for the left-back spot over the next few months.

Meanwhile, Ritchie is well into his 30's and has been poor this season. He has averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.43 across 16 Premier League appearances, showing that he has been far from good enough over an extended period of time.

Lewis, on the other hand, showed signs of promise prior to picking up an injury in December. In the 1-0 win over Burnley, he was given a WhoScored rating of 7.00 as he made four tackles, four clearances, one interception and one block.

Ex-England striker Darren Bent previously lauded the £50k-per-week flyer's talents, saying: “Jamal Lewis, when you think about it, defensively I think he’s a little bit better than Max Aarons. I think going forward and defensively he’s very good, and underrated as well.

“I’m telling you, if he keeps progressing at Newcastle, he might be a dark horse. He could turn out to be one of the best left-backs in the country this season."

This highlights the player's potential and why Howe has dropped a clanger by refusing to include him in his squad for the rest of the campaign. He is a young talent with potential and he is now set to waste away on the sidelines until the summer.

Lewis will be forced to play for the U23's or simply work hard in training for the next five months, unless he is able to secure a move to a country where the transfer window remains open. For example, the Turkish market does not slam shut for another week and it could be an avenue worth exploring for the full-back instead of stunting his development with no competitive football for months.

AND in other news, "I heard a slight whisper": Downie drops big NUFC claim on live TV, Howe surely gutted...