For a long time, seeing a Newcastle United player in the England squad was quite a novelty. Nowadays it's almost taken as an insult when our players are overlooked.
Nick Pope has been in and out of the England set up over the last couple of years. Injuries have played a big part in that, but also, the fact that within his boots is a pair of trotters rather than feet is probably a bigger issue.
Meanwhile, Anthony Gordon, Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall all broke into the England squad last year and all of them look like they belong. Tino probably has the most work to do of the three to convince Thomas Tuchel he belongs, but Anthony Gordon has given a good account of himself in recent games.
Now, despite only just making it into the last squad, Lewis Hall has already laid down a claim to that troublesome left-back spot.
Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker both agree that Hall has what it takes to nail that spot down. Talking on The Rest Is Football podcast about England stars who deserve to play a bigger part in the side going forward, Shearer put forward Hall's name.
“I would go Lewis Hall. I know he’s already got caps, but I still think that’s a position up for grabs.
“And he’s having a fantastic season in everything he’s doing, defending, going forward.
“He’s looking the real deal. And I think that could be the position that he could take for the next six, seven, eight years, if he keeps on going.”
Gary Lineker followed up with a simple "Yeah, I agree".
Hall has had two very contrasting seasons at Newcastle United since we took him from Chelsea. Originally a loan move with an obligation to buy for £28 million, fans could have been forgiven why we even bothered last season when Eddie Howe seemingly refused to use the talented defender.
In hindsight, Eddie Howe played a blinder. Making Lewis Hall work hard for his spot, the 20-year-old was brought into the side late in the season and looked fantastic.
The lifelong Newcastle fan hasn't looked back since and has absolutely made that left-back position his own at Newcastle United and is expected to do the same for his country.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
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25 | 36 | 60 |
2 |
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25 | 29 | 53 |
3 |
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25 | 12 | 47 |
4 |
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25 | 17 | 44 |
5 |
![]() |
25 | 15 | 43 |
6 |
![]() |
25 | 13 | 43 |
7 |
![]() |
25 | 9 | 41 |
8 |
![]() |
25 | 5 | 39 |
9 |
![]() |
25 | -3 | 38 |
10 |
![]() |
25 | 0 | 37 |
11 |
![]() |
25 | 1 | 34 |
12 |
![]() |
25 | 12 | 30 |
13 |
![]() |
25 | -3 | 30 |
14 |
![]() |
25 | -4 | 30 |
15 |
![]() |
25 | -7 | 29 |
16 |
![]() |
25 | -18 | 27 |
17 |
![]() |
25 | -19 | 19 |
18 |
![]() |
25 | -27 | 17 |
19 |
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25 | -30 | 17 |
20 |
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25 | -38 | 9 |