Jamal Lewis makes triumphant return | OneFootball

Nice to see Jamal Lewis getting back on the pitch and experiencing some positivity.

When on loan from Newcastle United to Sao Paulo last year, Jamal picked up a bad ankle injury in mid-November 2024 when on international duty with Northern Ireland.

With no chance of being able to play for some time, Newcastle and his Brazilian loan club agreed to mutually terminate his loan agreement.

Jamal Lewis then saw out the remainder of his five year Newcastle United contract and became a free agent after 30 June 2025.

However, he then failed to find a new club until that all changed on Friday (31 October 2025) when Preston North End announced (see below) that they had agreed an initial two month deal, taking Jamal Lewis to the end of 2025.

Things have moved fast and yesterday Preston were in action at Southampton and with the away side leading 1-0, Jamal Lewis came off the bench in the 80th minute. The former NUFC defender helped his new team see out a massive away victory, with Preston actually adding another late goal to win 2-0.

That result has taken Jamal Lewis and Preston into a play-off position, sixth in the Championship.

I hadn’t taken much notice of what was happening in the Championship this season but having had a look at the table, I see a number of clubs who were recently in the Premier League, really struggling.

Southampton were booed off by their fans yesterday and are fourth bottom of the Championship, then you have Sheffield United third bottom and Norwich only one place above rock bottom. Sheffield Wednesday are of course lowest of all, as they attempt to recover from a disastrous owner and on top of that a points deduction which sees them currently with minus five points.

The left-back was signed in 2020 by Steve Bruce for £15m from Norwich on a five year contract, but only played 31 times for Newcastle United, until becoming a free agent four months ago.

Good luck to Jamal Lewis and hopefully this turns into a permanent deal at Preston, or else he gets long-term deal elsewhere if able to impress these next two months.

‘Preston North End are delighted to announce the signing of Jamal Lewis on a short-term deal.

The left-sided defender has put pen to paper on a contract at Deepdale which will run until 30th December 2025.

The Northern Ireland international arrives with plenty of experience, including a promotion out of the Championship with Norwich City and 39 caps for his country.

Manager Paul Heckingbottom said: “We’ve been struck by a few injuries which has made the squad look a bit thin, so we felt we needed more cover in the short-term and I’m really happy we’ve been able to bring in someone of Jamal’s calibre.

“He brings experience of playing at the highest level, he’s earned promotion out of this division, and he’s been playing international football since 2018.

“Most importantly he’s shown us he’s really excited by the opportunity and he’s ready to give everything while he’s with us.”

Jamal’s career began with Norwich City, where he would go on to really make his mark in the 2018/19 campaign, helping the Canaries to achieve promotion to the Premier League while also being named in the EFL Team of the Season.

The defender then earned a move to Newcastle United where he would go on to make 36 appearances, with some of his time with the Magpies spent out on loan with Watford and Brazilian giants São Paulo.

Jamal will now spend the next two months as a PNE player and will be in contention to make his debut against Southampton this weekend.

Jamal said: “I’m really excited. I’m really grateful for the opportunity and just ready and raring to go, to be honest.