With Eddie Howe no longer at the helm, Newcastle United’s project under Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) seems to be falling apart. Many of their best players over the years have left the club, and it looks like two others might be following suit: Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Hall.
United are the club most strongly linked to Hall, and for good reason. This summer, in many ways, is the perfect window for United to bring him in. Luke Shaw’s still a useful contributor, but his best days are behind
him, and with more midweek fixtures, he can’t be expected to play twice a week at left back. United have a lot of players who can do a job at left back; both right backs, Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui, and Patrick Dorgu, who’s most likely to see more minutes as a left winger in the coming season, but this would be negligent over the course of a season.
Hall doesn’t seem like a player who needs time to settle, but it’s always preferable to be slowly integrated into the club. Shaw has also lost a step over the years and doesn’t get forward as often as he used to, whereas Hall is an extremely aggressive full-back, always looking to drive forward, take his man on, and play crosses or cut-backs. He defends in this front-foot manner as well, which can sometimes be an issue, but it’s a lot easier to work around this when there are other players in the position to compete with.
United also have a slow midfield, something that the side still has to resolve, but managed to compensate for this with energy in other areas of the pitch last season. This can’t be a long-term strategy, and United must resolve this issue within this window; a player like Hall will go some way to helping in this regard.
Hall, like some of United’s recent signings, has also performed quite well against United and at Old Trafford. United aren’t the same force they once were, but showing up at the biggest stadiums and occasions is always a desirable quality for a United player. United’s left flank is also a bit short on quality compared to the right at the moment, so there’s not much to argue against concerning this move. This one’s a no-brainer.
