Forget Lewis Hall – why the Newcastle left-back’s loss may not be so bad for Thomas TuchelForget Lewis Hall – why the Newcastle left-back’s loss may not be so bad for Thomas Tuchel
Forget Lewis Hall – why the Newcastle left-back’s loss may not be so bad for Thomas Tuchel | Getty Images
With Lewis Hall out for the season, Thomas Tuchel has a headache at left-back - so who should he select next week?
For years, England have had some pretty clear-cut options at left-back – but Luke Shaw is perennially injured, Ben Chilwell is struggling for minutes, and now Lewis Hall, who had jumped to the front of the queue to be their successor, is out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury. On paper, Thomas Tuchel has a bit of problem on his hands.
England’s new head coach will name his first England squad Thursday 13 March ahead of World Cup qualifiers at home to Albania and Latvia. Neither should pose too much of a threat to the Three Lions, making these ideal circumstances for a little light experimentation – and fortunately, there are options even with Shaw and Hall out, and Chilwell a more questionable alternative than he might have been a couple of short years ago. But who should start for England later this month?
Who should replace Lewis Hall for England?
There are four obvious options for England behind Shaw, Chilwell and Hall – Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly, Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell, Rico Lewis from Manchester City and Hall’s Newcastle team-mate Valentino Livramento, who is more usually deployed as a right-back but who is likely to fill in for Hall under Eddie Howe for much of the rest of the season.
There are centre-halves who have some experience of playing full-back available too, including Ezri Konsa and Levi Colwill, but looking at more ‘natural’ full-backs allows us to make the direct comparison as to which players offer more quality in the role in the long run.
The chart below compares the four players mentioned across several key statistics, providing hints as to their efficacy as defenders and as a part of the attack, from their ability to create shooting opportunities to their dribbling skill (‘progressive carries’ include dribbles either into the box or at least 10 yards downfield).
Data taken from the 2024/25 Premier League seasonData taken from the 2024/25 Premier League season
Data taken from the 2024/25 Premier League season | NationalWorld
The defensive stats are impressive for all four players, although Lewis’ impressive 68.8% success rate of tackling opposing ball carriers, a big increase in previous marks, stands out, while Livramento’s interceptions imply an impressive ability to read the game well. Lewis-Skelly and Mitchell both make an impressive number of tackles by volume, however. All would likely keep things tight at the back.
Which means that the ability to keep play flowing forward is perhaps the key tie-breaker. Lewis and Lewis-Skelly have very high pass completion rates, which implies that they would be the best at keeping possession ticking over, but Lewis-Skelly has made less of dent in the final third in terms of creating chances of his own. The Arsenal youngster also only attempts crosses at a rate of once every three matches – he seems less well set-up to get to the byline and get the ball into the box than his peers, although those skills could well develop considerably over time.
Rico Lewis seems to come out on top from a strictly statistical standpoint, and the 21-year-old has had an impressively consistent season for his club despite Manchester City’s travails – although his form has dipped in recent weeks.
A key advantage all four players have over Hall is that they’re better at handling opposing wingers running at them. Hall is ahead by most attacking metrics but does get caught out one-on-one quite often and can leave space in behind – a weakness that has been exploited by Newcastle’s opponents on occasion this season. All of the four obvious candidates to replace Hall handle those situations better, with higher tackle success rates and a higher rate of successful ground duels.
Why scheme fit will make all the difference
The issue with Lewis – and Livramento, for that matter – is that both are naturally right-footed players. Lewis’ statistical output is coloured by the fact that he plays far more matches in midfield or at right-back, and he would not necessarily offer the same output down the left, as demonstrated by his performances in that position under Gareth Southgate, where he offered little attacking penetration.
If Tuchel wants a left-back who sticks to the wing and looks to offer width in the final third, Lewis’ weaker left foot will be a significant disadvantage. Livramento, similarly, is more effective when attacking down the right, even if his defensive output remains consistent on the left.
Tuchel may, however, prefer a left-back who either remains in deep positions, allowing England to form up in a 3-2-5 shape in attack, or one who slots into midfield to provide a stable base of possession in a 2-3-5 in possession. If that’s the case, then Lewis is likely Tuchel’s best option, even if his best position in the long term is either in the middle or down the right.
That approach didn’t work well for Southgate in the last year of his tenure, largely because of a lack of left-footed players providing width further downfield. With every one of England’s attacking options looking to come inside from the left, England were often too narrow and had far too few options coming forward. Unless Tuchel envisions a different attacking set-up, right-footed left-backs are likely to be too conservative of a choice.
That puts the ball back in the court of England’s two remaining ‘natural’ left-backs, Mitchell and Lewis-Skelly, both of whom may well get call-ups next week. It’s a classic case of experience against immense talent.
Given the relatively gentle nature of the games in question, there is a good chance that Lewis-Skelly will get at a chance to prove himself on the international stage, but it may be that Mitchell is the better option from a purely competitive standpoint right now.
At the back, Mitchell and Lewis-Skelly are both excellent tacklers and the Arsenal youngster makes more interceptions, but Mitchell’s acumen shows up in other areas, with considerably more blocked shots and clearances this season.
Going forward, meanwhile, Lewis-Skelly has plenty of potential and scored a fine goal against Manchester City not long ago, but creates few chances – he only has a total of 0.1 expected assists in his 12 appearances this season and his 1.27 shot-creating actions per match is in the bottom 10% of full-backs in Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues.
Mitchell, meanwhile, has quietly developed into a solid creative force, generating more chances and picking up a career-high four assists in the Premier League over the course of the current campaign. He makes more ground both and off the ball, and receives passes in ‘progressive’ situations well over twice as often as Lewis-Skelly.
If Tuchel wants a full-back who can stretch the field and offer attacking width while keeping things tight at the back, then Mitchell is the best option at his disposal on current form, and has likely earned the right to add to his two England caps. Perhaps Lewis-Skelly will overhaul him one day, once he has rather more minutes under his belt, but as it stands Mitchell is probably in the best position to replace Hall at left-back - but whoever Tuchel selects, Hall’s injury may be a bigger issue for Newcastle than it is for England.
Related topics:Luke ShawRico LewisBen ChilwellThomas Tuchel
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