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The London-born Toon fan becomes Newcastle United's latest England debutant following his impressive performances this season.
Lewis Hall's excellent performances for Newcastle United this season were rewarded with an England call-up for their Nations League clashes with Greece and Republic of Ireland, and the young Toon fan's dreams came true when he came on as a half-time substitute for Ezri Konsa to help England to a 3-0 victory in Athens.
Newcastle legend Alan Shearer was highly impressed with Hall's debut performance. Speaking on "The Rest is Football" podcast, the former Newcastle and England captain was full of praise for the young left-back:
"When he was given his opportunity when he came on in the second half I thought he did really really well, he looked comfortable, played a small part in the Bellingham goal the way they played out from the back so yeah, good night for him as well".
Hall has been in excellent form at club level this season including a man-of-the-match performance in Newcastle's 1-0 victory over Arsenal, a game in which he had to manage soon-to-be England team-mate Bukayo Saka for 90 minutes and largely nullified the Arsenal winger to just 5 touches in the Newcastle box and no shots on target, a stat that Hall himself was proud of when speaking to TNT Sports.
"Bukayo's an amazing player, so going into the game I was just thinking if I can keep him as quiet as possible then I think I've done my job well".
Manager Eddie Howe also sang Hall's praises, not only on his recent performances but also his work rate and development in training.
“I think he has come on in leaps and bounds, but I think Lewis is the one that deserves all the credit. He is the one who had to really dig deep, show real resilience. The level of his game is very high." Eddie Howe on TNT Sports.
Questions were asked when Lewis Hall was signed on loan from Chelsea in the summer of 2023 with a reported £30m obligation to buy. At that time Newcastle had just qualified for the Champions League with the joint-best defensive record in the league, and already two senior left-backs in the form of Dan Burn and Matt Targett. Many fans questioned why Newcastle spent such a large portion of their limited transfer budget on a “player for the future”, but Hall’s performances this season have quickly silenced critics and repaid Eddie Howe’s faith in his investment.
“We signed a very talented player, there was no doubt about that, he just had a few things to work on, as we all do,” Howe told Chris Waugh of The Athletic. “The most impressive thing about Lewis last year was he was committed to that.
Born in London but raised as a Newcastle fan by his father Colin who hails from the North-East, Hall joined the Chelsea academy at age 8 and remarkably made his full senior debut in a 1-0 defeat away to Newcastle - a match that clearly caused mixed emotions in the Hall household:
"It was a bit weird for my dad, though," Hall said in his matchday programme interview. "He really wanted me to do well and to succeed but, being a Newcastle fan, he didn't want them to lose!”.
12 months later Hall left Chelsea for Newcastle, and while he took some time to settle and prove his readiness to manager Eddie Howe, he has gone from strength to strength making the left-back spot his own and now having his hard work rewarded with a first ever England call-up for the upcoming international break much to delight of his current coach.
"He has had a really good start to the season. Consistent and really mature displays. There is still a lot to come from him" [Source: NUFC.co.uk]
Coincidence and narrative continue to be a theme for the full-back - the manager who handed him that first start for Chelsea looks set to be his future England manager should he keep his place in the national team, and the German coach is clearly a fan when speaking to Football.London back in 2022:
“It was his performance and attitude in training. The attitude he's showed in our possession games and small-sided games. He was good and deserved to start” - Thomas Tuchel on giving Hall his Chelsea debut.
With somewhat limited options in his position, Hall is in prime position to not only contend for a starting spot against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, but also to lock down the left-back spot for his national side for many years to come and give his dad and his family even more to be proud of.
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