'Buzzing' - New Newcastle United signing opens up as 'club-record' transfer announced

Hall’s loan move from Chelsea officially turned permanent on July 1 after the Magpies met the performance-related criteria to trigger a £28million deal, a club-record fee paid for a teenager.

There was, however, doubts over whether that would happen. In his opening six months at St James’ Park, the 19-year-old made just four starts and in three of those was hooked at half-time.

Questions were being asked about Hall’s playing time and what that potentially meant for his future. It was noise Hall was aware of until the left-back got his big break during the final quarter of the season.

Tough beginnings on Tyneside

“You’ve obviously got this obligation clause which could be triggered for the price that it is and you’d look at it and go ‘you’re not playing, what’s going on?’ As a fan, you wouldn’t necessarily know what is going on inside,” Hall told NewcastleWorld.

“Obviously I was aware of that but my focus was to keep my head down and keep working hard and keep learning from everyone. I had a great set of coaches always helping me whether I was at my best or not to help me improve as a player and get me to know the style of play the team plays.

“As I got more games towards the end of the season it helped boost my confidence. Going into this season, it has given me confidence to show why Newcastle have bought me.”

Hall admits he wasn’t up to the required levels when he first arrived on Tyneside. Fitness levels were below ‘Newcastle standard’ and he was still getting to grips with what Eddie Howe expected from him.

Waiting five months for another start

Hall was first handed an opportunity when he started back-to-back games away to Borussia Dortmund and AFC Bournemouth in November. The latter would prove to be his last start four five months.

“Last season was more of a learning curve for me. When I first joined I wasn’t quite at the levels required physically, it is obviously something I can control but some things you can’t.

“When I first joined, it was just about getting up to those physical levels because there is being football fit then there’s Newcastle fit, which is slightly above average in my opinion.

“Then it was all about learning how the team played, and everyone can take different times to do that. It took me a lot longer than I thought it would but I kept working hard and kept my head down, and eventually when my opportunity came I had to take it. I was really grateful for the run I got in the team at the end.”

And when times got tough, Slough-born Hall didn’t have his family on his doorstep for the first time in his life.

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"Moving away from home was a massive thing because you've got all your family at home to support you,” Hall added. “You get some dark days at training where you don't necessarily train as well as you want or maybe something could happen that you're not quite with it and you could drop your head and think, 'I don't know if I'm cut out for this. I don't know if the style of play is going to suit me.'

“It's all about adapting and keeping with it, which the gaffer has really helped me with. I've had some difficult days where I felt like it was not quite clicking for me like it should have by now, but the gaffer and the backroom staff supported me. It's just all about overcoming these setbacks that you get. There's always something on the other side.”

When Lewis Hall’s fortunes changed

It was against Everton on April 4 when Hall finally got another start. That came as a result of his positive cameos against Manchester City and West Ham, particularly the latter when his introduction helped Newcastle fight back from 3-1 down to win 4-3.

Hall remembered: “I think the City game before the international break, I came on and got half an hour and I felt quite good and sharp when I was playing. When I went into the international break, I had a couple of games there as well so when I came back in the week against West Ham I was feeling quite confident in myself - I hadn’t had too much confidence during the season.

“When I came on I just thought ‘I’m just going to try and build on this. If we get one goal who knows what can happen’ then we got another and next thing you know it’s 4-3 and everything changes. Yeah, I think that was a big moment for me.”

Hall went on to start seven of Newcastle’s remaining nine matches. After coming through a difficult period, the challenge for the player now is to further cement his position at left-back.

“I’ve definitely matured a lot, I think. As a person off the pitch I think I’ve come out of my shell a little bit more which isn’t necessarily easy for everyone to do but I feel right at home with everyone now. I definitely feel more mature and all the setbacks that have happened in football have helped me do that off the pitch.

“On the pitch, defensively I’ve improved massively. There are still some things I want to improve on when it comes to the defensive side of my game but I think with more experience, game time, training and coaching it will all come as long as I keep working hard.

“It was an amazing feeling [to sign permanently],” Hall added. “I knew what was coming so it wasn’t necessarily a surprise but there was a sense of relief. You never know in football, things can change so quickly but I was buzzing when it got announced even though I did know it was going to happen.”