Eddie Howe explains Lewis Hall's lack of game time at Newcastle United after Chelsea move

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has explained why Lewis Hall's found game time hard to come by in recent weeks.

The young left-back started back-to-back defeats against Borussia Dortmund and AFC Bournemouth before the international break with his substitute appearance at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday his first for a month.

While Hall was ineligible to face parent club Chelsea, the 18-year-old didn't make it off the bench versus Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Everton, something that has taken many Newcastle fans by surprise given the club's injury crisis.

Asked about Hall's lack of minutes, Howe simply pointed towards the form of Tino Livramento at left-back and Kieran Trippier on the opposite side.

Howe said: “I think Tino has been excellent at left-back and Kieran has his obvious qualities at right-back so that would be the reason and Lewis, when he comes on, has to perform well."

A question answered by Howe earlier in his Spurs post-match press conference provided further insight into his thinking after the 46-year-old named the same outfield players for the fifth consecutive match.

Howe said: “I want to make changes that benefit the team. Everyone that I picked today wanted to play and felt able to play, no issues. Of course, I understand the backlog of fatigue that can build but we don't have an abundance of options so I don't know.

"Of course, we have a couple of senior professionals but it's difficult to make changes to a team that has performed so well - we beat Arsenal, we beat Chelsea, we beat Manchester United and that was only two games ago.” 

Teenager Hall has endured a tough start to life on Tyneside.

In the four starts he has made for Newcastle, he's been brought off at half-time in three of those, - the exception being the 3-0 win over Manchester United in the Carabao Cup, a fixture he scored in before being withdrawn in the 74th minute.

Hall joined Newcastle on an initial season-long loan deal from Chelsea in the summer with an obligation to buy for £28million at the end of the campaign.