In their last 13 matches, England have only once started with a specialist left-back. Now a specialist left-back has emerged who debuted under Thomas Tuchel and who, even before the German takes charge, can benefit from the coaching of England’s most-capped full-back. If the autumn of 2023 was decidedly difficult for Lewis Hall, a year on, the stars could seem to be aligning for him.
Of the six uncapped players in Lee Carsley’s squad this month, Hall has the clearest path to a place in the team. Luke Shaw began the Euro 2024 final, but his outings have become rarities amid his injury problems. Kieran Trippier was the right-back pressed into service on the opposite flank in Germany but he has opted for international retirement.
In Carsley’s interim reign, Levi Colwill, Rico Lewis and Trent Alexander-Arnold have played out of position on the left; the Chelsea and Liverpool players have been ruled out this week’s double header against Greece and Republic of Ireland.
So Hall’s maiden call-up to the senior squad was no shock; not to the Newcastle United player himself. “I think I had a bit of feeling, purely because of the lack of out-and-out left-backs that there are,” he said. Hall, being left-footed, is an anomaly. He is also in form, his case advanced by his performance against England’s player of the year for two of the last three seasons, Bukayo Saka, when Newcastle beat Arsenal.
“I have played in some big games this year and faced some tricky opponents, Saka being the main one,” Hall said. “He is a very, very good player. Noni [Madueke] as well – he is really quick, strong, powerful. Those two are difficult opponents, Bernardo Silva as well. He is different to them; a bit more technical, close control with the ball, finds himself in good positions which make him difficult to mark.”
All of which is dramatically different from his fortunes last year. Then, moving to Newcastle on loan from Chelsea, swapping the club he joined at eight for the one he supported his whole life. The start was chastening: perhaps still more so with a father from the North East and a grandfather who used to be a regular in the stands at St James’ Park.
“On paper it doesn’t necessarily look the best,” Hall said. “It was three out of the four games that I’d started I’d been taken off at half-time. One of them being on a yellow card, which I understood. And then the other two weren’t my best games. But at the time that frustrated me.”
He didn’t begin another game until April; until Sven Botman suffered a cruciate ligament injury and Dan Burn moved inside to play centre-back. Since then, perceptions have shifted. Hall may have been a misfit; now he looks well suited to Newcastle’s style of play. The deal to take him to Tyneside, amounting to £35m, no longer appears particularly costly in the world of PSR, but a fine case of long-term planning. And Hall, a midfielder for much of his upbringing, is now happier in defence.
“As a career I feel I have more ability at left-back than in midfield,” he said. “I just think the way we play at Newcastle really suits my game. The full-backs are really involved, I feel like I get loads of the ball in good areas.”
He has now linked up with Ashley Cole, winner of 107 caps, for a third time. He is in position to benefit from some specialist tuition.
“I’ve worked with him a couple of times, in the Under-21s before, and then when Frank Lampard had the stint at Chelsea for a little bit,” Hall said. “So he used to help me a lot when I was playing towards the end of my last season at Chelsea, he gave me a lot of advice then. There’s a lot of things that he does that are detail to do with defensive positioning.”
And an attention to detail is a feature of England’s next manager and Hall’s first. Tuchel first brought a 17-year-old in to train with Chelsea’s Champions League winners and then made him the club’s youngest ever starter in an FA Cup tie.
“I remember his sessions were really good, there was a lot possession based, which was something I really enjoyed, and he was a good person to me,” Hall said, his thoughts switching to a 5-1 win over Chesterfield in 2022. “I didn’t have any idea I would be starting the game. I thought I might get a couple of minutes at the end. Watching it back and thinking about it now, it was nowhere near the perfect performance.”
Nor one, he thinks, that has much relevance, shrugging off the significance of his past under the next England manager. Against Chesterfield, Tuchel picked him as the left of three centre-backs, looking to benefit from his assurance in possession. Then, however, he was seen as more of a midfielder. “I think I am a completely different player now,” he said. But perhaps, given England’s lack of left-backs, the player they need.