Former England star says 'fantastic' NUFC player is 'getting better week by week' and is best in the league in his position

Last summer Newcastle United splashed £60 million on two young full-backs who at the time weren't even deemed to be ready for a run in the first-team.

While the £28 million Newcastle paid for Chelsea's Lewis Hall was deferred for a year as part of a loan-to-buy deal, Newcastle went right ahead and splashed £32 million on Tino Livramento from Southampton.

Both moves are paying dividends now but at the time they looked very risky, particularly the fact that Lewis Hall couldn't break into the team and Newcastle were on the hook for £28 million.

Newcastle need not have worried as both players are turning into stars in front of our very eyes with Tino Livramento already having been called up for the senior England side and Lewis Hall tipped for a call up sooner rather than later.

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Glen Johnson says Tino Livramento is the best right-back in the Premier League

One man who knows all about representing England as a full back is former Chelsea and Liverpool star Glen Johnson who has been singing the praises of the duo to 10bet via The Chronicle, with special praise reserved for Tino Livramento.

"I think Tino Livramento is the best right back at this moment in time in the Premier League. He seems to be getting better week by week.

"He put in another fantastic performance this weekend against Arsenal. There’s nothing too fancy or too flash to his game, but he does the basic stuff really well and obviously everyone's always spoke about his potential. I think now he’s flourishing and he's playing every week in a team that's doing well, which has given him confidence. He seems to be building on every performance at the moment.

"I think Lewis Hall has got the potential to be called up into an England squad this season. I think there's still a bridge to gap and he will definitely be looking to do that with his performances.

"The first stage of any playing career is to get into the first team and then as soon as you're in the first team you want the next milestone. If he's playing week in, week out in the Premier League, and playing well, then eventually he’s going to throw his name into the hat. I think he needs to raise his level a little bit but there's nothing to show that he’s not capable."

Lewis Hall has been tipped to join Tino Livramento in the next England squad

Lee Carsley is set to name his third and final England squad this week with a lot of outlets tipping Lewis Hall for a call up after keeping Bukayo Saka quiet at the weekend.

Tino Livramento is still to make it onto the pitch for England despite riding the bench for the past four games, so hopefully his recent form has done enough to warrant him being given a chance by Carsley this time.

On the flip side, if neither player takes part in the upcoming Nations League games, at least they'll be fresh for when Newcastle return to action after the break.