Lewis Hall is currently at St George’s Park training with his new England teammates after receiving a well-deserved call-up from Thomas Tuchel.
For our money, there hasn’t been a better player in black and white this season than Lewis Hall. We’ve had a few players who have shown their worth at times, but none have been as consistent as the 21-year-old left-back.
Not only has Hall been consistently good, but he’s also managed to improve with each game. Of course, he has made mistakes; he’s not perfect, but Newcastle as a team have been way off their best, which makes it harder for individuals to stand out.
When you consider that just two years ago, Hall couldn’t get a game for Newcastle and everyone wondered if we were looking for a way to get out of our obligation to buy as part of the loan deal that brought him to Tyneside from Chelsea.
Eddie Howe had constantly spoken about how Hall needed to work on the defensive side of his game, and that’s what he did. Once he got to a level that was acceptable for Howe, Hall’s chances came, and the youngster grabbed them with both hands and never let go.
Speaking to the media at St George’s Park (via Henry Winter on X), Hall spoke very highly of Eddie Howe and spoke about his help in getting him up to speed.
“He’s been a massive help for me. He’s done so much to help me be in the position I am now.
“He’s helped me a lot off the pitch in ways to be around the training ground, and how to interact with all the lads.
“And then on the pitch, he’s showed a lot of belief in me, and taught me a lot about the defensive side of my game, which was the main area I needed to improve when I first joined.
“He spent a lot of time staying behind after training, working with me. I’m always grateful for that. Top coach.”
Thomas Tuchel called up 35 players for England this time around, including six from Newcastle United. Tuchel will have to whittle that squad down to 26 for the summer’s World Cup, but this month’s friendly matches is all about getting a closer look at his options.
From Newcastle, Tuchel called up Aaron Ramsdale, Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento, Dan Burn, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes. We’d be stunned if all six travelled across the Atlantic with the Three Lions in the summer.
We’d expect Barnes and Ramsdale to drop out, but Livramento and Gordon look to be locks for the World Cup squad. Hall and Burn may have to impress this month, but we’d give them both a good chance of making it into the World Cup squad, Hall especially, as left-back is a problem area for England.
Many pundits have spoken about Hall being England’s best option for months now, so now is his time to prove them right.