Newcastle United face major summer transfer decision as club record deal agreed with Premier League rivals

Newcastle United's summer transfer window dilemmas have already begun.

The club have already effectively secured their first summer signing having agreed to pay Chelsea £28million to sign 19-year-old Lewis Hall following the end of his season-long loan at the club. It will represent a club record fee paid by the club for a teenager, smashing the previous record of £8.5million paid for Hugo Viana from Sporting CP before Hall was even born.

Lack of first-team action for Newcastle United

The issue is Hall has found himself out of favour during his loan spell. As The Magpies head into the final 11 games of the Premier League campaign, Hall has started just once in the league.

The 19-year-old has played just 268 minutes of football this season and has been substituted at half-time in three of four starts in all competitions. This is despite the club experiencing a significant injury crisis which has seen head coach Eddie Howe call upon 17-year-old Lewis Miley and opt to keep hold of young midfielder Joe White following his return from a loan spell at Crewe Alexandra.

Howe spoke about Miley and White as players who have earned his 'trust' in training.

But that same level of trust with Hall doesn't seem to be there at the moment with the defender being an unused substitute in each of Newcastle's last eight matches. His last time on the pitch came during the closing stages of Newcastle's 3-2 defeat at home to Manchester City almost two months ago.

Even 34-year-old Matt Ritchie, who plays in a similar position, has made more appearances than the teenager so far this season.

And with Matt Targett close to a return from injury, Hall could find himself even further down the pecking order. Targett has been out since November but has a chance of making the bench for Monday's trip to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Given the terms of Hall's loan, he is ineligible to feature against his parent club and will drop off the bench as a result.

Adapting to a new role

While Hall caught Newcastle's attention playing at left-back for Chelsea last season, the player has regularly played further forward and in a more central position at youth level.

And the club are continuing to work with the player to improve the defensive side of his game.

"Lewis is a really talented player," Howe admitted. "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."

Hall's first start for Newcastle came in the Carabao Cup where he played on the left-wing before being taken off at half-time. The only match the youngster has surpassed 45 mintues for Newcastle is the 3-0 Carabao Cup win at Manchester United in which he scored.

Newcastle's £28m obligation to buy clause from Chelsea

Newcastle's £28million obligation to make Hall's loan move permanent is subject to performance-related criteria. A lack of opportunities would suggest that Hall has not met that criteria, however, The Gazette understands the clause will likely be triggered as it is subject to Newcastle's overall performance in the Premier League rather than the individual player's.

Despite Hall rarely playing, Howe said: "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." As a result, Newcastle are set to end up paying a significant fee for a player who is not playing and is at a crucial stage of his career and development process, all while under significant financial pressure from the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules. And before the window has even opened, the club have already spend a sizable portion of their summer transfer budget on a player who is not in contention for a place in the starting line-up.

What next for Lewis Hall?

Hall is set to join Newcastle permanently in the summer. While he will be given a chance to make an impact in pre-season, there is every possibility the club will look to loan him out to get regular first-team football and aid his development.

Hall attracted strong interest from Premier League club Crystal Palace before Newcastle swooped in. Given his experience playing Premier League and Champions League football, he wouldn't be short of options should he be made available for a loan.

While Newcastle view Hall as a long-term investment, it does raise questions about the club's recruitment process while having the so-called 'pull' of Champions League football at the time.

When asked if Newcastle could afford to spend the best part of £30million on a player who isn't playing, Howe said: "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."