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Lewis Hall is proving to be a highlight for Newcastle this season.

When Lewis Hall joined Newcastle United from Chelsea in the summer of 2023, questions were asked. The Magpies had just qualified for the Champions League and were expected to reinforce their squad with quality and experience in a number of key areas.

Sandro Tonali’s arrival from AC Milan felt like a seminal moment. Newcastle had gone to a European heavyweight and prized away a key asset; it had been sensed since the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover in 2021. But his arrival was followed by more future-proofing deals for Tino Livramento and Hall. There were doubts as to whether they were ready to thrive in their new environment as a club looking to become a major force, and when Newcastle began to struggle during the winter months, questions were asked about the decision to look so far into the future.

Eddie Howe wasn’t helped by Tonali being ruled out for the season by a ban for breaching betting rules. Livramento did begin to grow into his surroundings, but Hall, aged just 18 when he arrived, was not getting much of a look in. Howe didn’t appear to trust the youngster defensively, and even though the Magpies were conceding too freely on the pitch even without Hall, he was held back, exacerbating the frustration of the fanbase further.

Nobody, least of all Howe, could question Hall’s ability. When he left Chelsea, initially on a loan deal with a £28m obligation to buy rising to £35m, their fans were devastated. He had been earmarked as a future England fullback, despite beginning his career in midfield at the academy. There were issues to iron out, but everybody knew he would become good eventually. The difficult truth remained, however; his lack of impact last season made life difficult for Newcastle as they missed out on European football.

The entire club is at a bit of a crossroads. Profit and Sustainability Rules and the need to avoid breaking them are known to be a hindrance, and they need to return to the Champions League to guarantee their upward trajectory continues.

There is a bit of irony at play in that Hall, having at one state signified a risk that may have backfired for Newcastle, is now proving himself to be one of their brighter sparks, in what has been a mixed start to the season. He has been a mainstay at left-back for Howe this season, in complete contrast to last season, and fully deserved a first full England call up and debut in the comfortable Nations League win in Greece on Saturday.

Despite questions over the approach since, Howe said the opportunity to sign Hall was too good to turn down and recently credited 

“We felt that if we didn’t grab the opportunity to take him when we did, we would possibly regret that in a year’s time,” explained Howe. 

“We would look round and not find a similar player of a similar level, with the potential that he had”.

“I think there’s always a timing issues around transfers. Sometimes, you get the timing right, sometimes you can miss the opportunity when it arises”.

“Thankfully, we took it, and people above me, at board level, understood the thought process behind the signing. I think that was vitally important too.”

Howe also spoke recently about the initial teething issues with Hall at Newcastle. Since he has established himself, though, he hasn’t looked back; quality on the ball was never in question but now he looks solid defensively too.

“I believe in development,” said the Newcastle boss. “It’s very, very difficult to sign young players, which Lewis was when we initially signed him, and then for them to come straight into your team.

“There was a big transfer fee attached to his name, and I think that was the issue for everybody, they wanted to see him straight away. We knew he had a bit of work to do to get to the level where we needed him to be”.

“The challenge then for Lewis is to accept he’s come for a big transfer fee, but then actually do the work. I’ve seen players who haven’t responded well to that. To Lewis’ great credit, he got his head down and did the work”.

“He worked incredibly hard, double sessions after training, a lot of review and analysis into how he was getting on. We had no doubt that he would step into the team and hopefully take his opportunities when they came”.

“I thought he really grabbed it towards the end of last season, and he hasn’t looked back at the beginning of this. I still feel there’s more growth and development in his game, but I think he’s in a really good place and has started the season very well.”

There’s little doubt playing the long game has paid off for Hall and Newcastle, even if there were issues with lack of immediate strength. He has long been seen as an international star in the making; his form this season at club level, and initial performance in Athens, has done little to quell that excitement.

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