Lewis Hall swapped Chelsea for Newcastle in the summer of 2023 after coming through the club's academy system
Lewis Hall stood out in Newcastle's 1-1 draw with Barcelona
Lewis Hall stood out in Newcastle's 1-1 draw with Barcelona
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If the performances of Newcastle United defender Lewis Hall were becoming impossible to ignore before the visit of Barcelona to St James' Park then there is no dispute that they are now.
In 90 minutes, Hall cemented his reputation as one of European football's brightest young talents by shutting out Lamine Yamal during the Magpies' 1-1 draw with the Catalan giants in the Champions League.
He almost certainly punched his ticket to the World Cup, too, and he will surely be the front runner to start as the Three Lions' left-back in their opening game against Croatia in Texas.
Hall, of course, came through Chelsea's youth system as a youngster and as they sought to ensure they complied with PSR regulations, they saw his sale, as pure profit, as a way to generate some funds.
Newcastle saw their opportunity, signing him on an initial loan deal before sealing his £35million signature, and after a tough first season he has gone from strength to strength.
Still just 21, Hall's best years are still ahead of him and there remains room for improvement. And when one reporter dubbed Hall the 'Slough Maldini' ahead of his return to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, Eddie Howe tried to temper expectations, while also giving him due praise for his performances this term.
"I would urge a little bit of caution, because I want to protect Lewis," Howe said in his pre-match press conference.
"I want to give him all the praise and the credit that he deserves, but he's got to continue on that path. The best way to do that is to keep him, especially for a defender, on the low.
"But you've just killed that with your opening line! He's done it through a lot of hard work. Obviously, he has to have the talent in the first place, and credit to all his coaches at Chelsea that would have put hours of development into him, I'm sure.
"But credit to the player himself for how he's worked. Especially in his time here, he's worked tirelessly with Jason Tindall, who focuses more on the defensive players and the defending principles that we work towards. He's done a lot of work on the basics of defending.
"They’ve been out there, and they were out there in his first year for hours and hours. I think Lewis deserves the credit for committing to that because it's one thing putting it on for him, but he has to commit, he has to want to do it, and he has to see the need to do it.
"Then he's got these attributes, some natural, some coached, that make him stand out. His low centre of gravity, his ball manipulation in tight areas. I still think his product in his final ball can improve and we're working on that with him now, because I'd love to see him make more assists and more goal contributions, but he can do a little bit of everything.
"He can cross the ball, he can shoot from distance. But he's got to stay very level and very focused because the game can turn very quickly and, of course, there's a second leg to navigate as well. So, he's got to focus on that."
And that room for improvement must send a shudder down the spine of Chelsea's decision makers. Newcastle could have England's left-back in their starting XI for the next 10 years and Chelsea could have had that for free.
In that time, the Blues have spent a combined £97million on left-backs Marc Cucurella and Jorell Hato and you would be hard pressed to find a Chelsea fan who won't look across at envy at the left-back they produced playing for the other side.
And Newcastle will hope he returns to West London to haunt them as they bid to keep their European ambitions alive.
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