Newcastle in talks with Chelsea for loan with obligation to buy Lewis Hall in deal worth £28m plus add-ons

Newcastle United are in talks over a loan with obligation to buy Chelsea defender Lewis Hall for £28million plus add-ons.

Mail Sport reported on Tuesday that Newcastle had stepped in ahead of Crystal Palace for the 18-year-old and talks are advancing.

The deferred payment will allow Newcastle to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) restrictions this window.

As Mail Sport revealed earlier this week, the Magpies have had a growing interest in the Blues academy prospect, who is a boyhood Newcastle fan, and are keen to buy him outright. 

The talented teenager had an agreement in principle for a new deal at Stamford Bridge, with Hall agreeing a fresh six-year contract with his boyhood club, with a view to then going out on loan with Crystal Palace for the 2023/24 campaign. 

Eddie Howe has been monitoring the full-back’s situation throughout the summer window

The proposed deal is an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy for £28million, plus add-ons

Chelsea valued their player for £30million, and the fee agreed with Newcastle has the potential to go higher with performance-related add-ons. 

Hall represents an opportunity to offload a valuable player for pure profit – due to his academy roots – as Chelsea look to comply with spending rules. 

Since co-controlling owner Todd Boehly’s May 2022 takeover, Chelsea have spent more than £900m in three transfer windows, and are preparing for more recruitment before the window closes in around two weeks’ time. 

Hall has made 17 first-team appearances for the Blues since breaking through in the 2021/22 season, and was named academy player of the year at the end of last term. 

However, head coach Mauricio Pochettino has plenty of options at left-back, with Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella, and Ian Maatsen all ahead of the teenager in the pecking order as things stand. 

Though he can also play central midfield, Chelsea have spent more than £100m each on Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, are set to sign Romeo Lavia for £58m and have also signed Lesley Ugochukwu this summer.

The outgoing deal is said to have been spearheaded by co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali, who has been a hands-on presence during Chelsea’s negotiations this summer. 

Newcastle previously considered a move for Cucurella as they bid to bolster their ranks in defence, and provide competition for regular starter Dan Burn. 

The Tyneside club has had a busy transfer window so far, having confirmed moves for Tino Livramento from Southampton, Harvey Barnes from relegated Leicester, and their landmark summer signing, Sandro Tonali, lured from AC Milan for £52m. 

The Italian midfielder had a debut to remember, inking his name onto the scoresheet after scoring one of the five the Magpies put past Aston Villa in the 5-1 St James’ Park victory. 

Newcastle made a strong start to the Premier League campaign with a 5-1 win over Aston Villa