Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards has praised Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall after the full-back left Chelsea for good. The pundit pointed out how much better the young defender has gotten and how much more he knows about tactics since moving from Stamford Bridge to St. James’ Park.
Hall first joined the Magpies on loan during the 2023 season. A year later, the move became permanent. Chelsea’s left side of defense has been stable since Marc Cucurella impressed under manager Enzo Maresca, but Hall has taken advantage of his chance in the North East. People have noticed his performances because he can switch between being a natural midfielder and a good full-back.
Richards talked about how much he liked the versatile defender on the podcast The Rest Is Football. He asked his co-hosts about the player’s background and talked about how good he is for the Newcastle team:
“I really like Hall at Newcastle. I really like him. I think he started in midfield as well when they got him from, it was Chelsea, wasn’t it?”
The expert went on to say exactly why he thinks so highly of the England youth international, focusing on his mental skills and attacking ability:
“Yeah, if I remember correctly and I remember I was doing one of the games and after the game he said he’s normally a midfielder but to go out at left back, but he’s so intelligent you know and when he goes forward he goes forward with conviction and has quality at the end of it as well. So I really like him.”
Cucurella is the first choice at Stamford Bridge, but Hall has successfully made his own way away from his childhood club and is now an important player for Eddie Howe’s team.
Chelsea get ready for their weekend match after losing in the UCL midweek
Enzo Maresca and his team want to get back on track right away as they get ready for Premier League action this weekend. The West London club lost in the UEFA Champions League during the week, which was frustrating and makes it harder for them to keep their momentum going into the holiday season.
The busy December schedule doesn’t give the Blues much time to think about their European loss. Maresca will expect his players to respond strongly to make sure that the result in the middle of the week is just a one-time thing and not the start of a losing streak.