Man Utd make final decision on Lewis Hall transfer

Manchester United have reportedly abandoned their summer pursuit of Newcastle defender Lewis Hall.

Hall, 21, left Chelsea to join Newcastle in search of regular playing time – following an initial loan move – in 2024 and has since gone on to establish himself as one of the most sought-after left-backs in the English game.

Also comfortable operating in midfield, Hall’s versatility has proven invaluable over the course of his three seasons in the north east and he played a key role in the Magpies’ historic Carabao Cup triumph last year.

Hall continued his outstanding run of form into last season and there was some surprise as he missed out on a place in Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man squad for England’s World Cup campaign.

But while Tuchel opted to overlook Hall, it’s understood the full-back has remained firmly in the thoughts of the Premier League’s elite – and Manchester United are known to have been tracking his progress for some time.

Hall quickly emerged as United’s primary focus at left-back and recent reports indicated that the player himself would be ‘keen’ on the prospect of swapping St James’ Park for Old Trafford.

The departure of Eddie Howe – who shares an agent with the defender – only fuelled these rumours.

However, Newcastle’s hierarchy have remained adamant throughout that Hall would not be for sale for anything other than an astronomical fee, with the England international deemed one of the squad’s ‘untouchables’.

According to The Athletic, the Red Devils are ‘cautious’ about spending significant sums before Tuesday’s deadline and are ‘at present’ ruling out spending the kind of money required to convince Newcastle into offloading Hall.

It’s claimed a loan move for an alternative target may be the best option for United, with Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde named as a potential temporary solution until next summer.

Fulham’s Antonee Robinson and Racing Santander’s Jorge Salinas have also been linked as possible plan Bs as United look to bring in support and competition for Luke Shaw.

Hall still has three years remaining on his current contract with the Toon.

United successfully strengthened their midfield by signing Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans from Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively last month, while bringing in back-up for Senne Lammens in the shape of free agent Karl Darlow.

Michael Carrick’s side have also agreed a £70million deal for Brighton’s Carlos Baleba and the midfielder has been given permission to undergo a medical ahead of a proposed move to the Theatre of Dreams.

After Newcastle 2-2 draw with Liverpool, Matthias Jaissle was put on the spot about the speculation surrounding Hall by Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel, who said to the German: ‘We’re after your left-back!’

But the newly appointed Newcastle manager delivered an emphatic response to Schmeichel, telling the former goalkeeper, ‘No chance! No chance!’, during their exchange on Viaplay.

In a separate interview with Sky Sports, Jaissle confirmed that Newcastle were still working on squad ‘adjustments’ in the final few days of the transfer window.

‘I would love to answer that with a clear number, but it’s depending also if players are leaving as well,’ he said.

‘For sure, there will be adjustments made, the needs are clear. The management knows about the needs and we are all aligned.

‘We will use the remaining time in the best possible way, but also we trust the players who are already here.’

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