Fresh Lewis Hall update after Newcastle United squad withdrawal & Man Utd claims
Newcastle United team news: Matthias Jaissle’s squad have arrived at Murrayfield for Wednesday’s pre-season friendly against Everton.
Newcastle United have been boosted by the return of Lewis Hall to the travelling group as they face Everton at Murrayfield.
The Magpies head into the game on the back of a week-long training camp at La Manga which ended with a 2-1 win over Valencia at the Mestalla. It was Newcastle’s first pre-season friendly win in two years as they look to build on it against Premier League opposition.
Lewis Hall travelled with the squad over to Spain but trained individually and withdrew early ahead of the Valencia match due to fitness issues. But he is back with the squad for the trip to Edinburgh for the unorthodox friendly match at a neutral venue on British soil.
The Gazette has launched a WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our NUFC WhatsApp channel.
It will be Matthias Jaissle’s second match as head coach and the first against domestic opposition as he prepares his side for the Premier League opener against Liverpool on August 23.
The match is also part of the Visit Malta series of matches which will also see Newcastle host Strasbourg and Bayer Leverkusen at St James’ Park this weekend.
While Hall is back involved in the first-team squad, Newcastle remain without Nick Pope due to ongoing uncertainty around his future. The goalkeeper has been made available to leave the club this summer but is yet to secure an exit.
Hall has also been subject to plenty of transfer speculation himself with fresh reports claiming the left-back wants to join Manchester United this summer. But Newcastle sources insist Hall will not be going anywhere this summer.
This comes after Newcastle sold Anthony Gordon to Barcelona, Sandro Tonali to Tottenham Hotspur and Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal already this transfer window.
Not only was Hall involved at Murrayfield amid the speculation, he was named in the starting line-up.
Dan Burn returned to training this week after the World Cup but was not involved while Tino Livramento, Lewis Miley, Fabian Schar and Ewen Jaouen are all out due to injury.
But Anthony Elanga was deemed fit to start after being stretchered off against Valencia.
NUFC XI v Everton: Hornicek; Shahar, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Elanga, Bamba, Joelinton, Toure; Osula, Wissa