Newcastle United is the perfect next step for Jamal Lewis after sealing his Norwich City move.

Lewis completed his initial £15m switch to the north-east earlier this week after signing a five year deal.

The 22-year-old is now in line for his bow against West Ham when the new Premier League campaign kicks off on Saturday.

Russell Martin and Matt Jarvis watched Lewis’ Carrow Road breakthrough at close quarters and have no doubt he can handle the pressure.

“I’m delighted for him, it’s a great move and somewhere I’m sure he will improve again,” said Martin, now boss of MK Dons. “Jamal is one of the most hard working and dedicated professionals I ever played with. He was a young player at the time who had to be told regularly to do less to manage his load and avoid injury.

“I remember his first pre-season with us in the first team and he won every single run, covered the most distance in every session and dedicated himself to becoming the best he could possibly be.

“He’s surprised a lot of people with how quick his trajectory has been but he has a real belief in himself and that, matched with his desire to be the best version of himself, has got him to where he is now.”

The former City duo gave their verdict to the Newcastle Chronicle, with Jarvis hailing the work of Daniel Farke to develop the young left-back.

“If you have a manager who knows how to handle you, it is amazing for any player.

“You are always going to flourish and play your best football,” he said.

“He has had an incredible grounding and tutoring from Daniel Farke in terms of his technical ability, how he looks at the game, his positioning and now at Newcastle he is going to have the man-management skills of Steve Bruce who has been there and done it for many, many years.

“He has always been an incredible athlete. The biggest compliment I can give him is his professionalism and mindset is outstanding. He has always wanted to do extra and always wanting to improve.

“What has got him where he is so far is his willingness to keep learning, to keep training and keep developing his game.

“He will get up and down the wing and he has improved technically.

“He is still a young lad and he is good as an attacking full-back that can get past players and get crosses in the box. He has his head screwed on, he is very professional and he is not one of those where you will see him going out and partying.”