Newcastle United got back to winning ways on Saturday, and in some style, smashing Leicester City 4-0 at St James’ Park.
Jacob Murphy bagged a brace as the Magpies enjoyed their most-emphatic victory since April, ending a four-match winless streak, as Eddie Howe’s team climbed up to 12th in the table.
When the Magpies travel to Ipswich on Saturday, they’ll be targeting back-to-back Premier League victories for just the second time since September and, if their key players continue to perform, they’ll be firm favourites for victory at Portman Road.
Newcastle United's star men coming to the fore
Both Bruno Guimarães and Alexander Isak scored at the weekend, doing so within three minutes of one another, which was symbolic considering they are the Toon Army’s two most high-profile players.
Isak, in fairness to him, has been generally excellent this season, taking his tally to eight goals for the campaign at the weekend, while the Swede has now bagged 15 goals in 16 appearances on Tyneside since Boxing Day last year.
Since the start of last season, only Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer and Mohamed Salah have scored more Premier League goals than Isak, which isn’t bad company to keep, hence why the striker has been attracting countless admiring glances.
Guimarães meantime, has started all 16 Premier League matches so far, only 16 players across the entire division have played more minutes, featuring for more minutes than any other Newcastle player both this season and last too.
Saturday though saw the Brazilian score for the first time since the final day of last season, yet to be at his dominating best, as the midfield trio alongside him continues to chop and change.
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Of course, everyone knows about the qualities of Isak and Guimarães, but their less-heralded teammate is currently outperforming both.
Newcastle's new star in the making
According to Sofascore, Lewis Hall is Newcastle’s highest-rated player this season, above Anthony Gordon and the aforementioned duo of Isak and Guimarães.
Hall arrived from Chelsea for a fee of £28m, plus potentially £7m in add-ons, making him the club’s ninth-most expensive signing of all-time, all of which have come during the PIF-era, but that’s still a significant outlay considering the PSR-constraints under which Newcastle continue to operate.
During his first campaign on Tyneside, the left-back made just 22 appearances, starting a mere eight Premier League matches, scoring two goals both of which, coincidentally, came in front of the Stretford End at Old Trafford, most notably firing home during a memorable EFL Cup victory over Man United.
However, since both Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman suffered ACL injuries in March, Dan Burn has been required at centre-back, allowing Hall to start 19 of the last 21 Premier League fixtures, including all 13 since 1 September.
Dominic Scurr of the Shields Gazette described Hall as Newcastle’s “star man”, noting that he “had the most touches, chances created and passes” on Saturday, claiming he could become Premier League’s best left-back, if he isn’t already.
So, how does the 20-year-old compare to some of the division’s best left-sided full-backs?
Appearances
16
15
14
16
16
15
Minutes
1,228
1,174
1,041
1,301
1,165
1,277
Assists
2
1
0
1
2
2
Expected assists
3.1
0.9
2.2
1.2
2.9
2.4
Progressive carries
26
15
23
36
11
38
Touches
1,128
884
893
946
756
746
Tackles
30
25
18
44
31
22
Avg SofaScore rating
7.29
6.90
6.69
7.00
7.01
7.09
As outlined, Hall has played more minutes and touched the ball more frequently than any of the other selected left-backs this season, while his expected assist figure of 3.1 underlines his creativity too.
With Sofascore rating Hall as the best left-back in the Premier League to date this season, considering he’s only 20 years old, he’s only likely to get better, elevating his transfer market value to something rather considerable considering the priciest left-back above was Cucurella’s £60m fee.
New England manager Thomas Tuchel handed Hall his senior debut at Chelsea so, given the Three Lions’ recent issues at left-back, the Newcastle man will feel that spot is up for grabs, having earned his first two senior caps in November.
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