Lewis Hall - Why 2024/25 could be his year after valuable lessons last season

The £28m permanent signing of Lewis Hall was officially confirmed a few weeks back and it's excellent news for the club as he is the epitome of promise and potential despite a tough first season on Tyneside.

After struggling to make a claim for a first-team starting XI spot even during a grueling club injury crisis there were mild concerns over his future, however these concerns were quickly diminished come the back end of the season as he began to display his worth with consistently good performances when we needed them most.

Prior to his flurry of end-of-season appearances, Hall was limited to a few cameos off the bench and the odd start. One of those came against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup, where he was substituted at half time, with the story being the same in starts against Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park and at Bournemouth. On both occasions, he found it difficult to demonstrate his skills and it wasn't long until Howe hauled him off. 

However, we saw the Lewis Hall we all hoped for in that memorable 3-0 win at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup, where he even managed to grab himself a sensational goal to double our lead. I'm sure I wasn't alone in thinking and hoping that this performance would earn him more appearances in the coming weeks and months. However, that just didn't prove to be the case. 

Months on the bench followed until an introduction in a 4-3 thriller against West Ham at St James' Park, a game that may have been a wake-up call to Eddie Howe as Hall proved to be one of the catalysts in overturning a two-goal deficit before Barnes' heroic winner. A full deserved start in midweek against Everton followed and despite a disappointing team performance on the night, Hall shone and went on to start six of our final eight games that followed.

His qualities really began to shine from here on out. He possesses real ability on the ball, being very front-footed and happy to carry the ball forwards, also having a decisive eye for a line breaking pass to our attacking players and willingness to provide an option in offensive areas with persistent over and underlaps. This made our attacking play much more multi-faceted after a rough period where we were showing signs of losing our intense and entertainer identity. It's key to note that Hall's introduction was not the only reason for our turn of form towards the end of the season, but he was certainly one of them.

At this point, it's worth adding in a recent explanation from Hall himself on his lack of minutes over the first half of last season. He told Sky Sports from our training camp in Germany that he arrived way off the fitness levels Eddie Howe required from his players. Hall also revealed that he's been doing a lot of work on the defensive side of him game to get him up to scratch, as that position is still something he's learning and adapting to, despite his breakthrough year at Chelsea seeing him shine in this area of the field. 

At just 19 though, there are bound to be flaws in his game. As he's admitted, he still has plenty to work on defensively, despite us seeing big improvements over the final few months of 2023/24, He can sometimes get caught flat footed and he's sometimes naive from a positional sense. However, the fact he's still just 19 means he's far from the finished product, with this highlighted by the fact he spent much of last season working on a specific training plan to improve these areas of his game and building up his fitness. With years of experience to gain which will only aid his development, he has the potential to become one of the best left back's in the league. 

The on the ball ability he portrays is what sets him above the rest in his age range and position, accompanied by an admirable work rate and positive attitude. He's a managers dream for Eddie Howe and his versatility could also be key in time, with him previously operating as a midfielder. 

In terms of my own ambitions for his 2024/25 season, I hope to see him build on his promising end to the previous campaign, become a consistent figure in our starting XI and nail down that left-back spot. It won't be easy, though.

After a season of learning and limited football, a transition into our first-choice left-back will be tough, especially with Lloyd Kelly arriving and Dan Burn also a Howe favourite. Persistent top flight football at his age is demanding and sometimes daunting. Whilst he appears to have the personality to tackle this and come out stronger, I think it's important to alleviate the pressure and manage him carefully, which is why it's a relief to have Kelly and Burn when required.

An exciting season awaits for Lewis Hall and supporters at the club. He's a huge talent and coupled with the right-sided Tino Livramento, we have two full-backs with the ability to become England regulars in time. I for one cannot wait for it all to kick off come August 17th.