Another day, another new left-back target for Newcastle United as they look to bring in a replacement for Dan Burn.
The defender was steady if not spectacular when moved out wide last season, but it is clear that Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is looking to bring in a new player for that position ahead of the 2023-24 Premier League season.
Having been linked with Arsenal's Kieran Trippier and more recently Federico Dimarco of Inter Milan, Newcastle may now switch their focus to a younger alternative.
NUFC Blog reports that Chelsea's Lewis Hall is on Newcastle's radar, and it could be an exciting transfer for the Magpies should they push ahead with their interest.
Is Lewis Hall good enough for Newcastle United?
After catching the eye at both U18 and U23 level, Hall was handed his Chelsea debut in January 2022 when becoming the youngest player to feature in an FA Cup tie for the club against Chesterfield.
The 18-year-old assisted Romelu Lukaku's goal in Chelsea's 5-1 win, but he had to wait until November to make his full senior debut against, of all teams, Newcastle in a 1-0 Premier League loss.
On that occasion, however, it was Miguel Almiron who came out on top, with the Paraguayan's two key passes and the 66% duels he won down Chelsea's left-hand side much better than the mere 43% won by Hall, as per Sofascore. Indeed, as remarked by 90min's Henry Burt, it was a 'tough' outing having been 'targeted' by the Magpies.
That said, with 12 senior appearances now to his name, the youngster is not quite established as such but is clearly on the right path to the top. Indeed, Frank Lampard blocked Hall from joining up with England for the U20 World Cup towards the end of last season as he felt he needed the youngster.
"He is a very good player, a really talented player," Lampard said. "He needs to come out of himself a bit more. I have been really impressed and he is in the running for the last four games."
Hall has played enough minutes to give a good indication of what he is all about. According to FBref's player comparison model, the teenager ranks very similarly to two of his Chelsea team-mates in Ben Chilwell and Reece James.
The Chelsea academy product is particularly alike Chilwell in terms of passes completed (47.1 per 90 minutes, compared to 48.5 for the latter), touches (73.2 v 72), carries (43.8 v 42.3) and aerial duels won (58.3% v 53.8%).
Chilwell does make his presence felt in the final third more, highlighted by his two goals and two assists last season, but it must be remembered he was a £50m signing for Chelsea three years ago, and indeed the final product tells.
Hall, by comparison, is a player on a weekly wage of £7k – as per Capology – and one who will only get better as he plays more regularly.
Even at such a young age, on the basis of the past 12 months he ranks in the top 4% of full-backs across Europe's top five leagues for shots attempted per 90 minutes (1.51).
In fact, he finds the target from 53.8% of his attempts, which compares to just 18.2% for Chilwell, suggesting the goals will soon arrive.
While he may not necessarily be the highest-profile left-back Newcastle are linked with this summer, Hall has the hallmarks to become a huge name in his own right – whether at Chelsea or indeed at St James' Park.