Newcastle could be ‘blocked’ from signing Lewis Hall permanently despite having an obligation to buy him

Lewis Hall, a Chelsea loanee, may not be allowed to join Newcastle United permanently.

Hall, 19, temporarily joined St James’ Park during the summer transfer window as Eddie Howe sought to add depth at every position in preparation for Champions League competition.

Since then, the Magpies have been eliminated from all European tournaments after placing last in Group F, with Hall playing in just one of the six games.

The youthful full-back has only worn the iconic black and white stripes six times since joining from Chelsea, indicating a haphazard start to life at his boyhood club.

Hall has been substituted off at halftime in each of his three Newcastle starts due to struggles.

Newcastle’s roster is very thin due to a plethora of injuries, and David de Gea has emerged as a surprise goalkeeper target while Nick Pope is sidelined for an extended period of time.

Even with the injuries the team has suffered to players like Dan Burn, Matt Targett, and Sven Botman, Hall still hasn’t established a regular spot in Howe’s lineup, and his future with the team now seems doubtful.

It was stated when the Chelsea player’s first loan move was finalized that Newcastle was obligated to pay £28 million to purchase Hall at the conclusion of his rookie campaign, but questions have since surfaced over this provision.

As reported by the the Daily Mail, Howe is reluctant to confirm whether or not Hall will remain at the club on a permanent basis, after stating certain criteria must be met in order to trigger the purchase option.

“I think Tino [Livramento] has been excellent at left-back and Kieran has his obvious qualities at right-back so that would be the reason and Lewis, when he comes on, has to perform well,” Howe stated in reference to Hall’s lack of playing time in recent weeks.

The player was not in the lineup for their most recent 2-1 loss to AC Milan, which eliminated them from the Champions League. They now have a home game versus Fulham coming up.

Hall will probably need to step up his performances in black and white if he wants to join Newcastle permanently this summer.

The Premier League is home to some of the best football players in the world, including elite talents like Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland.

English teams have also been heavily investing in their squads during the recent transfer windows, with Chelsea setting the standard with over £1 billion spent since Todd Boehly took charge.