Premier League giants ‘weren’t happy’ as £28m star insists on Newcastle United move

Newcastle United new boy Lewis Hall reportedly ‘insisted’ he wanted a move to St James Park prior to putting pen-to-paper on a season-long loan deal.

The Chelsea youngster officially became Eddie Howe’s fifth summer signing earlier this week when he agreed a temporary move to Tyneside that will become a permanent switch based on what the Magpies described as ‘performance-related criteria. Hall follows the signings of Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes, Tino Livramento and Yankuba Minteh, with the latter currently spending a season-long loan with Dutch champions Feyenoord.

There had been speculation Hall was Howe’s preferred target as he look to boost his options on the left-hand side of a defence that was the strongest in the Premier League last season and the United boss could not hide his delight when the deal was officially confirmed.

He told the club website: “He is a player we have tracked closely, as have a number of clubs, so it’s very pleasing to secure him and to add a player of his quality, versatility and high potential to our squad. I’d like to thank everyone involved for their tireless work to bring in the players we have. A lot of time, effort and resource goes into a transfer window, but we have a real togetherness at all levels here and I appreciate that teamwork and support.”

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has now claimed Hall’s exit had disappointed some members of the Stamford Bridge hierarchy as they lost another academy graduate in the same transfer window that saw Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek join Manchester United and AC Milan respectively.

He told Caught Offside: “I’m aware about reports that some figures inside Chelsea weren’t happy with the Lewis Hall exit. Still, this is football – it’s impossible to sign 15 players and not sell anyone. Sometimes if you produce many talents you have to make some choices and also… some money, for Financial Fair Play. Also, the player insisted to join Newcastle, so it was the best option for all parties.”