Lewis Hall names Newcastle United man who pulled him out of 'dark place' after slow start at Toon

Looking at how Lewis Hall is getting on now you'd never believe how hard it was for him at Newcastle United just a year ago.

Newcastle fans were buzzing when it was reported that the club were signing the Chelsea youngster on loan with an obligation to buy.

Hall had a lot of hype around him, and despite only having made a handful of appearances for the Blues, it was clear he was destined to become a top-quality player.

However, it took a long time for Hall to get a look-in at Newcastle with Eddie Howe reportedly unhappy with the defensive side of his game, which, given he was signed as a left-back, needed to be addressed.

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Eddie Howe always had faith in Lewis Hall and is reaping the rewards for his patience

For a while, it was pondered by fans if Hall would be sent back to Chelsea with Howe avoiding triggering the obligation to buy, but that was never on the cards.

Eddie Howe knew what a special talent he had on his hands, but he and his coaching team wanted to make sure he was ready before putting pressure on him as a first-team starter and in hindsight that paid off massively.

Hall went on a run in the first team at the end of last season impressing everyone and now, not only is he a regular in Eddie Howe's starting lineup, he's got two England caps to his name and is swimming in praise.

Dan Burn was a key figure for Lewis Hall last season

It was a hard slog for Hall, however, who has told talkSPORT that the early days at Newcastle were dark times but he had good teammates who helped him out, particularly Dan Burn.

“It was really tough. You start doubting yourself and things around you. It can be quite a dark place after training.

“Tino Livramento, Lewis Miley, players like that who, when I went into training, I got on well with them. They were players that really brightened up my day.

“I think there are a lot of players, like Dan Burn, for example, who have been really good to me. He’s always looked out for me and understood how I was feeling when I wasn’t playing.”