Eddie Howe makes brutally honest admission after being quizzed on surprise squad inclusion

After the January transfer window closed, clubs had to once again file their 25-man squad for the remainder of the Premier League with Newcastle United making a surprise addition.

Newcastle had a couple of departures in January, creating space in the squad, however there were no new incoming faces to fill those gaps.

Eddie Howe did technically have another player to call upon after Northern Ireland left-back Jamal Lewis' move to Sao Paulo was cut short due to injury.

The 27-year-old left-back was due to spend the season in Brazil with the hope of sealing himself a permanent move after his Newcastle contract expires in the summer, but fate had other plans.

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Eddie Howe was brutally honest in his response to the Jamal Lewis question

Lewis returned to Newcastle in January after his latest injury was set to keep him out of action for longer than would have made the loan move worthwhile.

Now The Shields Gazette have asked Eddie Howe about Lewis' inclusion in the squad and the former Norwich man certainly won't be getting excited about pulling on a black and white shirt again this season.

“Jamal's currently injured and receiving treatment, but he's not receiving treatment here, I think that was something we had to do as a formality, really.”

How low must Jamal Lewis' confidence be after that?

Ouch, Eddie! Essentially, 'we gave him a squad place because we had to'. I mean, we probably all knew it was just a case of throwing him in because we had the space, but actually coming out and saying it, that's gotta sting.

Lewis probably knew it, to be fair, I can't imagine that Eddie Howe would say that publicly without having already said as much to the player.

We do sincerely hope that Lewis can fully recover from this latest injury and find a move for himself in the summer that works for him.