Eddie Howe names surprise Newcastle United player in contention for Liverpool clash

Eddie Howe’s side will be aiming to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to Manchester City against Liverpool on Sunday and the Magpies head coach has revealed that new signing Lewis Hall could feature at the weekend. Hall’s move from Chelsea was confirmed earlier this week and Howe has revealed his new signing could make his debut against the Reds, but has urged caution about expecting too much too soon from the defender.

Howe said: “He’s fit, he’s in contention but he’s obviously done minimal training with us.

“His short-term aim is to develop to us. What I mean by that is mould his game around what we want him to do and that will take a period of time.

“Ideally with your signings you try and get them in as early as you can during pre-season. I think you’ve seen the benefits of that with someone like Sandro Tonali who has come in and adjusted to our way quite quickly and although there’s a lot more to come, that period has been really beneficial.

“Lewis will have to go through a similar period where he understands totally what we need him to do.”

Whilst Hall could make his Magpies debut against Liverpool on Sunday, he may have to wait to be used on a more regular basis. And whilst Newcastle fans may have to be patient to see what their newest signing can offer the team, Howe knows exactly the quality his newest addition has to offer.

United’s head coach was asked about Hall’s move to St James’ Park and Howe was very complimentary about the skillset the 18-year-old possesses, revealing that Hall had ‘caught his eye immediately’. Howe said: “He played against us a couple of times last year and he impressed me for someone so young to come into those situations and perform the way he did. 

“In preparing for those games we of course watched a lot of Chelsea and, I think he’d just broken into the team before our first game I believe, and he caught my eye immediately. I really liked his attitude, how he played the game, his physical attributes, his technical attributes, so I think he’s going to be a really good signing for us.”