Lewis was a hugely exciting young talent when he joined [the Magpies](https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/newcastleunited/?ref=ed_direct) in a £15m deal in 2020 but the switch didn't work out and the last of his 31 Premier League appearances came back in 2023.
He had loan spells in the Championship and in Brazil before finally leaving St James' Park when his contract expired last summer.
But at that stage he was still working his way back to fitness after underdoing surgery on an ankle injury which cut short his spell with Brazilian giants Sao Paulo after just six appearances.
It meant that Lewis find himself still rehabbing as he started his search for a new club last summer.
“Difficult, frustrating… it’s been very testing, physically and mentally” said Lewis when recalling the past few months.
“Hindsight is always 20/20 isn’t it? I had four or five proposals (in the summer) but decided I wanted to go in a different direction, but that never came to fruition. Football is like that. When you’re a free agent, you take a gamble a little bit. It didn’t work in my favour…
“Once the transfer window closed, I was left in no man’s land, counting down the days until I got a call from a team.”
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Lewis linked up with League Two side Barnet to keep fit and also travelled to Dubai to train.
The phone finally rang in late October when Championship side Preston called, needing cover for several absentees.
As soon as he had signed a short-term deal that runs until the end of December, Lewis messaged Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill.
And he's now back in the Northern Ireland squad for the first time since October last year because injuries, including a broken arm for Preston’s Ali McCann, have left O'Neill short-handed for their final World Cup qualifying group fixtures away to Slovakia and at home to Luxembourg.
Lewis said: “I sent Michael a text when I was joining Preston, to let him know I had a club.
“I’m fit, I knew there were some injuries, so if he needed me to play any sort of role in the team, I’d be available.”
Since signing for North End, Lewis has made three appearances, making his first start when he played just shy of an hour in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Millwall. A day later, the call from O’Neill came.
“It was on Sunday,” he said. “My phone had died, but when I charged it back up I had a missed call from Michael so I presumed it was good news! I was delighted to get the call.”
The addition of Lewis gives O’Neill fresh options to cover for shortages in midfield, potentially allowing Justin Devenny to move from left wingback into a more central position.
For Lewis, it is an opportunity to come into a team that has a chance to secure a qualifying play-off place. If Northern Ireland can avoid defeat in Kosice on Friday and then beat Luxembourg in Belfast on Monday, they will be in play for a top-two finish.
“I’ve been keeping tabs on the boys,” Lewis said. “I love their energy, I love the quality they’ve shown in the games. Now we’re in the final stretch where points are needed to put us in a good position.
“I would love to play… I remember when we played Slovakia in the qualifying play-off for Euro 2020 and they beat us. Maybe quite a few of the boys didn’t play in that game, but I still hold a bitter taste and would love to put one over them.”