Newcastle United 'very close' to securing £28m summer transfer after Crystal Palace snub

Lewis Hall is 'getting closer' to triggering a permanent transfer to Newcastle United despite a lack of first-team action.

Hall joined Newcastle on a season-long loan from Premier League rivals Chelsea with an obligation to buy for £28million based on performance-related criteria. The left-back was close to joining Crystal Palace on loan before The Magpies swooped in.

While the performance-related criteria is yet to be hit, head coach Eddie Howe claimed: "He's getting closer [to triggering the clause] with every game. While I'm not on top of that on a daily basis, I'm sure he's very close."

The 19-year-old has made just one Premier League start for Newcastle since the start of his loan spell and has only played more than 45 minutes on one occasion, the 3-0 win at Manchester United in the Carabao Cup in which he scored. Hall has been an unused substitute for Newcastle in each of their last five matches.

And when pressed if Newcastle can afford to spend the best part of £30million on a player who isn't currently near the starting line-up, Howe responded: "He is near the first team. I think the broader look is that every transfer we make is so important.

"We don't have an endless amount of money to spend and financial fair play will restrict us not just now but in the future. So every decision we make we have to try and get right.

"And you are never going to do that in the transfer market. There will always be mistakes. So I am not really speaking about Lewis here, I am speaking generally about every transfer we bring in."