Eddie Howe rolled the dice for Newcastle United away at Manchester City on Saturday evening.
With his team 2-0 down in the FA Cup and creating little outside of Alexander Isak’s chance, the Newcastle boss opted to make a quadruple change just after the hour mark.
Indeed, Howe brought on the likes of Lewis Miley, Miguel Almiron and Elliot Anderson. More surprisingly, he turned to young Lewis Hall.
It has been a difficult season for the youngster, who is still set to join the club on a permanent basis for £28m from Chelsea.
The 19-year-old is not deemed defensively ready enough just yet but Howe has still spoken positively about the player’s potential.
Watching him come on at the Etihad Stadium, Danny Murphy expressed his surprise at how things have panned out for the Chelsea loanee.
Lewis Hall: Danny Murphy on Newcastle youngster
Just after the hour mark, commentator Guy Mowbray spoke of it being a rare chance for Hall to impress.
Reacting to the comment, Murphy told BBC One: “I’m amazed he hasn’t played more.”
Lewis Hall: Newcastle must trust youngster
Newcastle don’t have a huge amount left to play for. While qualification for the Europa Conference League remains a possibility, it is hardly the most tempting target during what remains of the season.
With that in mind, why not try and develop Hall during the final ten games? He’s going to have to learn at some point and Dan Burn has hardly covered himself in glory this season.
If Hall can hone his craft during some reasonably dead-rubber games, perhaps Newcastle can start to see the benefit next season. Playing Burn just for the sake of it does not seem the wisest move for the club in the long-term.
The only way Newcastle will know if he’s ever going to be up to the challenge is by seeing him in regular Premier League action.
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