The first game of the season edges closer and we are still to make serious headway in the transfer market. However, we’ll leave that to one side and continue our positivity ahead of the new season. The third positive focuses on Lewis Hall.
It was around this time 12 months ago that we signed the left back from Chelsea. After a slow start to life on Tyneside, there was a lot of sourceless speculation about Hall. Plenty suggested that he wasn’t being used so the club didn’t activate a release clause, but that was far from the truth.
The teenager just took his time adapting to a new club and a new style of play. Hall has spoken since about the difficulties he found after moving to the North East, but he ended the season in impressive form. A consolation goal at Old Trafford was one of the highlights.
After an encouraging cameo against West Ham, Hall started seven of the last nine matches. Although his involvement was forced, he managed to impress the manager during these matches and earn his trust. Over pre season, Hall has been a regular at left back, with only Jamal Lewis competing for minutes there.
Dan Burn and Lloyd Kelly can both play there, but neither have been used in that role during pre-season. This should give Hall plenty of confidence that he is the first choice there and it is his position to lose.
It is too early to do a deep statistical breakdown of Hall, as the sample size remains small. However, it is worth mentioning a few eye-catching numbers, even if they come with a warning.
Hall averages 0.11 shots and 2.18 shot creating actions per ninety minutes, which underlines his attacking threat. His best attribute is his passing through the lines, as shown by his average of 5.34 progressive passes per ninety minutes. The full back is comfortable with the ball and he can play threatening line breaking passes. We have lacked that profile under Howe.
Although Hall is still learning his defensive game, he is aggressive without the ball. He averages 3.16 tackles and 1.31 interceptions per ninety minutes. Meanwhile, his 1.2 successful aerial duels per ninety minutes show he can handle himself physically.
It is worth remembering that Hall is still only 19. He has plenty to develop and will make mistakes. However, he has the attributes to be an excellent modern day full back. His history as a midfielder mean he could play in the inverted full back role, which gives options to Howe.
If he develops in the way Howe will believe he can, Hall could end the season in the England squad. After having his time to develop out of the spotlight, he can use Anthony Gordon’s rapid development last season as motivation. It can be done and it wouldn’t be a shock if Hall followed a similar pathway.
Stats taken from fbref (powered by Opta)
