After being heavily linked to Manchester United in the summer, Lewis Hall shook off the speculation and signed a new contract at Newcastle.
The new deal commits the left-back to St James’ Park until 2031, which leaves United’s chances of signing him in coming transfer windows somewhere between slim and nothing.
The 22-year-old defender said the arrival of Matthias Jaissle as Newcastle’s head coach was central to his decision to stay. Hall believes the manager’s plans for the club, combined with the strengthening of the squad, persuaded him that his future remained on Tyneside.
“I guess whenever you’re linked to another team, you know that you’re doing something right,” Hall said. “I guess it’s just a credit to your own performances and how you are as a player, how you are as a person.”
Hall said he was never unsettled despite the interest from United during the summer.
“I took that as a positive, but at the same time, I knew how much I love playing here and I knew that since the manager came in, I knew the ambitions and what we wanted to achieve,” he said.
Newcastle resisted the prospect of losing Hall and made clear that he was not available. The defender then agreed the contract extension through to the summer of 2031.
Hall said only a short period working with the new manager was enough to convince him.
“After not many conversations, not many training sessions, I knew that the manager was going to be really good for this club,” Hall said. “I knew that as a team, bringing in new players and improving the squad was really important and as soon as we did that, it was a no-brainer really to sign.”
Hall has started the season strongly since committing his future to Newcastle. He scored in the 2-1 victory over Hull City last weekend, a result that moved Newcastle up to ninth in the Premier League. His form has also earned him a recall to the England squad after he missed out on the World Cup squad.
The defender has welcomed the freedom Jaissle has given him in his role, while accepting the defensive demands that come with playing at full-back.
“He’s a top guy,” Hall said. “He’s been so good to me. He gives me the licence to express myself as long as I do the defensive work and do the running that’s required for this position, which is quite a lot of work. But I’m happy to do it as long as it benefits the team.”
Manchester United will reportedly be considering other options to strengthen at left-back. Brighton’s Ferdi Kadioglu, Aston Villa’s Ian Maatsen and Racing Santander’s Jorge Salinas are understood to be among those on the list.
Hall, meanwhile, is not quite treating his new contract as a guarantee that he will remain at Newcastle until 2031. He said the club’s ability to meet their ambitions would be important to his long-term future.
“I think when you’re at a team you don’t think too far into the future,” he said. “Obviously, I’m really grateful for the contract that I’ve received and the trust that I’ve been given from the board and from the manager and everything like that.
“But I’m just taking it game by game, just trying to do the best I can for this club.”
