After our 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, Eddie Howe revealed that Lewis Hall was “some way off” the fitness levels of his fellow Newcastle United teammates, explaining why we wasn’t selected in the squad.
Since then, Howe has been asked for another update on the 18-year-old after he was an unused substitute in Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Brighton.
The boss explained that he’s still “building his fitness up”, insisting there was “no temptation to start” him. Howe added that he “started at zero” after such a limited pre-season with Chelsea, where he played just 74 minutes of football across five friendlies.
There’s no concern – Howe says “we’re building him up nicely” and reveals he’s “doing very well” in training – so hopefully he can raise his levels over the international break; where he spent Tuesday with the England senior squad after an initial call-up to the U20s.
Here’s what Howe had to say about Hall – who turns 19 on Friday – following the Brighton defeat:
“Lewis is building his fitness up.
“I’d say there was no temptation to start him because he has started at ZERO with us really having not played pre-season.
“We’re building him up nicely and he’s doing very well.”
