Steve ‘The Beast’ Lewis could be set for return to North Wales football

Steve Lewis in his Holywell days. Picture: Holywell Town FC

“The Beast” could be on his way back to North Wales football.

Steve Lewis is believed to be set to sign for Prestatyn Town.

He will join an impressive list of captures secured by new Seasiders director of football John Lawless in recent weeks which also includes ex-Football League aces Luke Holden, Johnny Hunt, Dale Jennings and Adam Buxton.

Striker Lewis, 33, hailing from Liverpool and affectionately nicknamed The Beast, has played for a host of North Wales clubs.

He originally signed for Welsh Premier club Bala Town from Liverpool League outfit Essemay FC in January 2011 aged 23 after impressing in a pre-season friendly.

Following a brief spell at Maes Tegid, Lewis moved to Rhyl after gaining further experience with Northern Premier League side Marine.

The likeable Liverpudlian was a major hit with the Lilywhites fans, finishing joint top-scorer with 16 goals when Rhyl’s invincibles won the 2012-13 Cymru Alliance League title without losing a single game in 30 outings.

Although disciplinary issues clouded some of his time at Belle Vue, he remained a key player and scored five times in 15 starts as Rhyl held their own on returning to the Welsh Premier in 2013-14.

Lewis left the club at the end of the season. He joined Cefn Druids in summer 2014, but parted company with the Ancients before the season started.

He kept busy playing local league games for a Liverpool area team before Lee Dixon brought him to Cymru Alliance club Caernarfon Town in January 2015.

And Lewis made quite an impact at The Oval, his 11 appearances delivering nine goals and he quickly developed a good rapport with the Canaries fans, but come summer 2015 he decided to sign for Welsh Premier newcomers Llandudno.

The move never worked out with Lewis not playing a competitive game for the Seasiders.

Instead he joined Holywell Town, newly-promoted to the Cymru Alliance, and did what he does best – banging in 13 goals in 18 outings for Johnny Haseldin’s side.

In January 2016, however, Lewis put pen to paper for Welsh Premier giants Bangor City.

On his third appearance for the Citizens, Lewis netted a stunning hat-trick in a 4-3 home victory against former club Rhyl.

Lewis made it 3-3 from the penalty spot in the 89th minute before writing himself into club folklore with an injury-time winner – a sublime long-range controlled chip in appalling conditions.

The start of the 2016-17 season saw Lewis return to the English pyramid and join Droylsden, mainly due to family commitments.

The striker fared really well for the Bloods, bagging 12 goals in Northern Premier First Division North, which made him at the time the fourth highest scorer in the league.

However, December 2016 brought an unexpected return to North Wales and a second stint with Rhyl.

Despite some good early displays injuries held him back and the season ended with the Lilywhites relegated from the WPL.

Next up was a return to the club where perhaps the robust hit-man produced his finest form – Holywell Town.

The 2017-18 campaign saw Lewis bag 23 goals in 28 appearances for the Cymru Alliance club, including back-to-back hat-tricks in thrashings of Airbus and Holyhead Hotspur.

Although he began 2018-19 at Runcorn Town, Lewis returned to Holywell and was welcomed back with open arms.

He scored nine times in 16 matches, making it 45 goals in 62 total appearances for the club, but sadly the Flintshire outfit were relegated from the Cymru Alliance.

The start of 2019-20 saw Lewis join Northwich Victoria but a knee injury halted his progress.

He has since played for teams in the Liverpool County Premier League on Sundays.

In an interview with Grassroots North Wales in September, he said his association with Welsh football may be over, but the lure of joining the reigning Cymru North champions looks set to bring him back.