Newcastle United have a real gem in Lewis Hall.
Hall has gone from strength to strength in the last 18 months, joining from Chelsea in the summer after an initial loan move.
Hall impressed during pre-season – the form has carried on into the Premier League. So far this season, the 21-year-old has played in all 20 of Newcastle’s Premier League games this season, bagging three assists.
Hall has enjoyed more game time as a result of Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles’ long-term injury setbacks forcing Dan Burn to move into the middle of defence. Even with Botman back, Hall has made it clear he should be Newcastle’s starting left-back for years to come.
As a reward for his performances, Hall received his first England call-up in November – making his debut in England’s 3-0 win against Greece. He linked up with Tino Livramento and Anthony Gordon in the Three Lions camp.
There were early problems getting the young defender to settle in, but those issues are well behind him now.
Now, recent words have shown just how far Hall has come in the last 12 months.
Lewis Hall’s extra Newcastle training
Hall didn’t make the desired impact in Newcastle’s squad during his loan spell until the latter stages of the season.
Hall’s goal in a defeat to Manchester United in May was a highlight, but there was evidence that he was improving defensively too.
According to Luke Edwards of The Telegraph, Hall has “listened and learnt” from Newcastle staff like Jason Tindall and Stephen Perches. Insiders are reportedly referring to Hall as a “sponge” for his ability to soak up knowledge and adapt it to this game.
Edwards claims that no player has done more training in the last 12 months than Hall. On a near-daily basis, Hall is believed to have stayed behind to work on extra elements of his game – sometimes for a couple of hours at a time.
It’s evident that Hall is reaping the benefits of his extra training and Howe is pleased with how he’s getting on.
How Eddie Howe feels about Lewis Hall
Matt Targett was out at the same time as Botman and Lascelles, so Hall was Howe’s only option to step into that spot while Burn moved into centre-back.
Howe has been full of praise for Hall in recent weeks, in December he was asked about recent performances.
He said: “Lewis has been very consistent. He has been a shining light for us, for someone so young that is not easy to do.
“I think his technical ability has been outstanding, defensively he has been pretty good, how he has handled himself and his maturity on and off the pitch has been high level.”
The 21-year-old impressed again on Tuesday, cleverly winning a foul which gave Newcastle the opener against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
