Watford set to beat Swansea City in loan pursuit of PL man

And now Romano has revealed on Twitter that the defender will leave St James’ Park on a temporary basis, joining up with Valerien Ismael’s Watford for the 2023/24 campaign.

The 30-cap Northern Ireland international spent four years at Norwich City before Newcastle United snapped him up in 2020, and he’s since made 36 total appearances for the Magpies.

Lewis helped Norwich City earn promotion from the Championship during the 2018/19 season, earning himself a spot in the EFL Team of the Season and also the PFA Championship Team of the Year too.

So far this summer, Watford have signed Rhys Healey, Tom Ince, Jake Livermore, and Giorgi Chakvetadze.

Watford have enjoyed a strong summer transfer window so far. They started a bit slowly but they’ve really burst into life in the past week or so, and this seemingly imminent signing of Lewis would be one of their best bits of business yet.

He’s a very proven player at Champisonhip level and his years at Newcastle United will have only made him a better player.

But he’s not in contention and so he needed a loan move. He’ll be itching to play some regular football and he should slot straight into the Watford XI under Ismael.

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The Premier League club have splashed the cash this summer – signing Sandro Tonali from AC Milan and Harvey Barnes from Leicester City – as they prepare for the 2023/24 season, which will see them compete in the Champions League, and are looking to trim their squad as well.

Lewis has found himself out of favour at St James Park and, according to the Daily Mail , is not in Howe’s plans for the upcoming season – with a loan move touted as the likely next step for the 25-year-old.

That report claimed that Watford were keen on the left-back as they tool up for Valerien Ismael’s inaugural season at Vicarage Road and with Hassane Kamara now back at Udinese after his loan spell last season.

Swansea City are said to have joined the race for the Newcastle defender recently but it seems they’re set to miss out with a move to the Hornets expected to be completed soon.

Howe told Nizaar Kinsella from the Evening Standard yesterday: “Jamal Lewis is the nearest to getting a loan move done to Watford in the next 24 hours.”

That represents something of a coup for the Championship club, who will be filling a position of need with a player that is a proven quantity in the second tier.

He may well have fallen out of favour at Newcastle but he excelled with Norwich City in 2018/19, when they won promotion and the Championship title, and has the physical attributes to thrive in Ismael’s high-intensity system.

With a contract that runs until the summer of 2025, it would be no surprise to see Watford pursue a permanent deal for Lewis should his loan spell work out.

Karl Darlow transfer update

Darlow is another player that has struggled for minutes since Howe took charge at St James’ Park.

The 32-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan with Hull City in the Championship and has looked a candidate to depart throughout the summer transfer window.

His next destination has been a source of speculation, however, with Blackburn Rovers, Bournemouth, Hull, Middlesbrough and Leeds all among the clubs linked.

Last week, it looked as though Darlow could be on his way to the Cherries – with The Northern Echo reporting that they were leading the race – but it now seems they’ve turned their attention elsewhere and the Whites could be set to win the race.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has reported that the Yorkshire club remain in talks over a deal for the shot-stopper and Howe has now offered his verdict, describing the move as “possible”.

With uncertainty surrounding the future of Illian Meslier, who has been Leeds’ number one over the past few seasons, Darlow would represent an experienced head and a safe pair of hands as Daniel Farke’s side prepare for life back in the Championship.