‘I’d be lying’ - England on red alert as Newcastle United MOTM issues come-and-get-me plea
Lewis Hall is confident he can break into the England setup following his man-of-the-match display against Arsenal.
A year ago, the Newcastle United left-back was still finding his feet at St James’ Park. Some questioned whether Eddie Howe trusted the defender, who joined from Chelsea 15 months ago.
Hall was taken off at half-time against Bournemouth and Borussia Dortmund, with just 115 minutes of first-team football in his initial nine months affecting confidence. Howe insisted the 20-year-old was being guided on the right path and, lo and behold, he impressed towards the back end of the campaign.
Newcastle are now reaping the benefits as Hall has arguably been the most improved player in 2024-25. Criticism had been levelled at his defensive acumen but the former Chelsea man - who made his move permanent in the summer - shut out one of the world’s best against Arsenal.
Bukayo Saka was barely given a kick - a feat which persuaded TNT Sports to crown him as man of the match. Speaking after the game, the Toon ace reflected on his dramatic improvement on Tyneside.
“It was a really, really good performance from us,” Hall said. “I think we know what they can bring, we saw it all last season and how competitive they are. When we went 1-0 up, it was just about being in a low block, working hard together.
“There are a lot of players in that team who probably don’t want to be doing that sort of job but they did fantastically well today. When teams come and play at St James’ Park, every block, every tackle, every throw-in we win… little things like that get the crowd going where at other places it might not mean as much.
“It’s amazing we can get that sort of feeling for a block. I’ve absolutely loved my time at Newcastle. When I first came, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little bit frustrating. But I think I’ve improved the defensive part of my game massively and I’m just proud I can wear this shirt and provide performances like today.”
Hall now has his sights on an England call-up where, despite a perceived “golden generation”, the left-back spot appears up for grabs. He said: “Obviously, there aren’t many left-backs in the England squad so I’d be lying as well if I said I hadn’t noticed that too but I’m just focussed on playing for Newcastle. If I’m playing well at Newcastle, that’s all I care about at the moment.”