Clayton Lewis has left Scunthorpe United following the cancellation of his contract by mutual consent.
The twenty-two-year-old arrived at the club on a three-year deal in October 2017. Graham Alexander signed him after he’d excelled in an eye-catching season for Auckland City the previous campaign, scoring eleven goals and adding thirteen assists in helping guide his side to win the regular season.
However, he failed to impress several different managers in Lincolnshire and over the next two years. He would go on to make only twenty-three appearances for the first team, of which only four were league starts, scoring just one goal in a promising debut against Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Trophy.
During his frustrating spell at Glanford Park, he did add to his New Zealand international caps, with four senior appearances, and seven caps for the Under-23s, helping the side qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
The midfielder is set to return home after being given an opportunity to get back playing regular football and push his claims for a place in the All Whites Under-23 squad for next year’s Olympic tournament.
Our View
Having failed to enthuse Paul Hurst and without an appearance all-season, there is little doubt this is the right decision for all concerned.
However, some Iron fans feel Lewis has not been given a fair chance this season, and that he is better than some of those players currently occupying the midfield positions in Hurst’s side.
Only time will tell, but we feel this may have been an opportunity lost by Scunthorpe, and that if Lewis had settled, he could have fulfilled the promise evident when he first joined.
One that got away, in our opinion.
