Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has made the surprise claim that Lewis Hall may not sign for the Magpies on a permanent basis at the end of the season.

It was reported in the summer that the club had an obligation to buy the Chelsea player for £28m, with another £7m due in add-ons. However, when asked about the fullback’s situation in his pre-match press conference on Friday morning, Howe said:

“You’re probably asking the wrong man, I’m not 100 percent sure. For me, he’s here now, he’s a Newcastle player. But I think there’s certain criteria he has to meet.”

“Lewis is a really talented player. He has huge technical qualities. He is creative and has very good final delivery. He’s a really good attacking full-back. He’s got certain things to learn defensively, which we’re working on with him.”

“But he’s a young age and also recently converted to a left-back. There needs to be a little bit of understanding that he may take a little bit of time to get the defensive solidity that we’re looking for, but he’s a player of such high promise.”

What “criteria” is Howe talking about?

It is believed that Hall needs to play a certain number of games before the transfer is officially made permanent next summer.

However, ahead of Newcastle’s fixture against Fulham on Saturday, Hall has only made 6 appearances, only 3 of which have been starts.

Howe believes Hall has defensive deficiencies

Rather than this being a case of Newcastle looking to save money, it does appear as if the main issue Howe has with Hall is his ability to defend.

It is, therefore, not a complete surprise that Tino Livramento has been picked ahead of Hall, despite the fact that the former Southampton player is being deployed out of position. It will be interesting to see how much game time the Chelsea loanee does get in the coming months.

You can watch the documentary – Newcastle United: The Road Back To Europe on Shots! TV here