Former Chelsea star Shaun Wright-Phillips has encouraged the club to pursue a move for Lewis Hall, picking out the Newcastle defender as a ‘fantastic’ replacement for Marc Cucurella. Hall has established himself as one of the most highly sought-after left-backs in Premier League football since completing a £35million transfer from Chelsea to Newcastle in 2024.
Hall's rise at Newcastle
Also comfortable playing in midfield, Hall’s versatility has proven invaluable over his three seasons at St James’ Park and he played an integral role in the Magpies’ historic Carabao Cup triumph last year. The 21-year-old continued his outstanding form into last season and was surprisingly omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man squad for England’s World Cup campaign this summer.
Cucurella's departure and Chelsea's need
Cucurella’s recent departure for Real Madrid has intensified rumours of a Chelsea return for Hall. Speaking to Jackpot City Casino, Wright-Phillips named Hall as the most ‘suitable’ option to succeed the Spanish World Cup winner. ‘Cucurella I think is a massive loss,’ Wright-Phillips said. ‘I think he’s a fantastic player, not only from his performance in the World Cup, but since he found his feet at Chelsea. He was at a club that was in many ways in disarray, they didn’t know where they were going or what direction they were heading. As soon as they got a manager in place that had a tactical side to him, you saw the good Cucurella they bought. For me, he’s just grown since that moment. To lose somebody of that magnitude will, of course, affect that defence. But it’s Chelsea, people move on and clubs like that have to figure out a way to find a suitable enough player that does just as good a job.’
Wright-Phillips backing for Hall
Wright-Phillips labelled Hall a ‘great’ talent and backed him to enjoy a ‘superb’ career if he stays injury-free. ‘Lewis Hall would be a fantastic replacement for Chelsea,’ he added. ‘I think he’s a great player. I was one of the ones who was shocked that he wasn’t playing in the World Cup, to be honest with you. But that will give him a little bit of grit between the teeth as well. As long as he can stay fit, he’s got a superb career in front of him.’
Price tag and other opinions
According to The Athletic, it would likely require an offer in excess of £50million to prise Hall away from St James’ Park this summer. Ex-Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp told BetVictor: ‘Lewis Hall is currently one of the best left-backs in world football.’ Ex-Chelsea forward Joe Cole has also expressed frustration at the club letting players like Hall and Marc Guehi slip away. ‘The fans are not happy [with the owners],’ Cole said on The Dressing Room podcast. ‘Since the takeover, they’ve spent £1.5bn and they’ve posted massive losses. They are four years into a five-year plan. It looks like, barring a miracle, they will be out of the Champions League. We need to talk about the strategy, the plan and where the club is going. This model of buy young, develop, and put value on. I thought to myself it sounds like buy and sell. Buy loads of players at 21, they will come into their prime at 25, and the average age of a Premier League-winning side is 27. Logically, buy them at 21, 22 or 23. Seven-year deals, average age, develop, by the time they are 27, but it seems too data-driven, structured, without the nuance of having senior players, how important that is, the culture, getting fans onside. We’re coming up to the fourth year of the masterplan. For all of the chaos of Roman Abramovich’s exit, the plan was always clear. Buy the best players, get the best managers, win every trophy. If they lose games, managers were gone, players were gone, and everyone knew what was going to happen. Clearlake have come in and gone, this is too structured, we’re going to try a new long-term plan. The first alarm bell to me is the number of managers sacked. That tells me that it isn’t long-term thinking; it can’t be. If it’s long-term, you stick with a manager. Cole Palmer at £40m has worked, Caicedo and Enzo were a lot of money but have worked. But there are lots that haven’t worked. There is a lot. Players who have gone out the door as well like Hall and Livramento who could be in the England squad. Mason Mount hasn’t worked at Man United but he was a legend at Chelsea. Marc Guehi, now he’s starting for England. Conor Gallagher, just to balance the books and make this long-term plan work, how long do you go down the road with this long-term plan before you go, we need to adjust. I feel like a broken record.’
