'Killed that!' - Eddie Howe bites as Newcastle United's stance on Lewis Hall's future made clear
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has responded to Lewis Hall being compared to a certain AC Milan legend.
Eddie Howe hopes Lewis Hall can stay at Newcastle United for a “long time” as he begins to receive European recognition.
Hall is regarded as one of the Premier League’s best left-backs and now there are conversations on where he ranks in Europe after pocketing Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal in midweek.
Yamal may have had the final say by converting his last-minute penalty to rescue a 1-1 draw in Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg, but Hall won the battle between the two.
Hall has gone from strength to strength since joining from Chelsea, who Newcastle face on Saturday, in 2023, a deal that was an initial season-long loan that turned permanent for an initial £28million.
Eddie Howe asked about Lewis Hall’s contract
The 21-year-old penned a long-term contract at St James’ Park until 2029 but continuing on his current trajectory will ultimately lead to interest from elsewhere.
According to the i Paper, Newcastle have a new contract for Hall “in their thoughts”. Howe has followed that by saying he hopes the left-back can stay on Tyneside for a long time.
Asked about the Hall transfer and if he’s a player he’d be looking to tie down to a new long-term deal, Howe replied: “Yeah, I think it was a really smart piece of business by us to acquire Lewis when we did. It was always with a longer-term view; we knew he wouldn't come straight into the team. We wanted to bring someone in who we feel could develop into that position.
“You never quite know how it's going to go. He had a really tough first year doing a lot of work behind the scenes. In that time, he had to really show mental strength and patience and commit to his development. He's reaped the benefits from that season onwards, where he's grabbed his chance in the team and he's playing again.
“Probably one of those players, I'd say, who's playing his best football currently. I think there's loads more to come from him. I think there are still areas of his game to focus on and improve.
“He's got a lot of strengths that not many players in that position would have. That's what makes him stand out and catch the eye. We hope that he can continue to stay here for a long time.”
Eddie Howe wants to protect Lewis Hall
Big statements have been made about Hall in the aftermath of his Barca showing, with one reporter labelling him the ‘Slough Maldini’ in reference to his place of birth and legendary AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini.
While Howe is happy Hall is getting the praise he deserves, the Magpies’ boss has also urged caution as he looks to protect the two-capped England international.
Howe replied: “I would urge a little bit of caution because I want to protect Lewis, I want to give him all the praise and the credit that he deserves but he's got to continue on that path and I think the best way to do that is to keep him very, especially for a defender, on the low, but you've just killed that while you're opening line!
“He's done it through a lot of hard work. Obviously, he has to have the talent in the first place and credit to all his coaches at Chelsea that would have put hours of development into him, I'm sure. But credit to the player himself for how he's worked, especially in his time here he's worked tirelessly with Jason Tindall who focuses more on the defending, with the defending players and the defending principles that we work towards. So he's done a lot of work on the basics of defending.
“They've been out there and they were out there in his first year for hours and hours, so I think Lewis deserves the credit for committing to that because it's one thing putting it on for him but he has to commit, he has to want to do it and he has to see the need to do it.
“And then he's got these sort of attributes that maybe some natural, some coached that, as I said earlier, makes him stand out.
“His low centre of gravity, his ball manipulation in tight areas, I still think his product in his final ball can improve and we're working on that with him now because we'd love to see him make more assists and more goal contributions but he can do a little bit of everything.
“He can cross the ball, he can shoot from distance but he's got to stay very level and very focused because the game can turn very quickly and, of course, there's a second leg to navigate as well, so he's got to focus on that.”