Keeping up with the comings and goings at Newcastle United since the end of last season has become almost a full-time job.
Fortunately, as an old age pensioner I can spend far too long every day reading football stories, writing football stories or commenting on football stories.
Time must also be found, of course, to talk football with like-minded mates.
My behaviour is far from exceptional, as shown when an email landed from my friend David.
He’s been supporting the Mags since the 1950s and is normally fairly sanguine on all things black-and-white.
Not this summer, however. Let him explain why.
“With a moment or two to spare, I decided to look through the BBC’s recent Football Gossip pages to find out how often they featured stories about Lewis Hall.”
May 21: Manchester United view Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall as a leading option for next season, while Bayern Munich and Liverpool are also interested in the 21-year-old England international. (Teamtalk)
June 9: Manchester United are not interested in signing Cristian Romero from Tottenham but are interested in Newcastle’s versatile 21-year-old English defender Lewis Hall. (Teamtalk).
June 11: Manchester United are interested in Newcastle and England defender Lewis Hall, 21, who is open to the move. (The Sun)
July 30: Manchester United are preparing a bid for Newcastle and England defender Lewis Hall, 21, with Spanish 19-year-old Jorge Salinas of Racing Santander a possible alternative. (Teamtalk)
Aug 8: Newcastle have told Manchester United that 21-year-old England full-back Lewis Hall is not for sale this summer after an initial enquiry was rejected. (Sky Sports)
Aug 10: Manchester United are strongly considering a move for RB Leipzig and Germany defender David Raum, 28, after failing to sign England left-back Lewis Hall, 21, from Newcastle. (Teamtalk)
Aug 11: Manchester United are prioritising Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall, with the 21-year-old England international also in favour of a move to Old Trafford. (The Sun)
Aug 20: Manchester United are concentrating on signing a new left-back, with Racing Santander’s 19-year-old Spaniard Jorge Salinas a candidate as Newcastle are not inclined to sell England left-back Lewis Hall, 21. (Caught Offside)
Sep 5: Manchester United will continue to monitor Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall, 21, with a view to a possible move for the England international next summer (Football Insider).
Sep 9: Newcastle could still sell Lewis Hall next summer despite the 22-year-old England left-back, recently linked with a move to Manchester United, reportedly agreeing a new contract with the Magpies until 2031. (Talksport)
“Teamtalk and their ilk clearly just regurgitate or make up the same rubbish but the two stories that really struck me were the ones in The Sun, stating that Hall was in favour or open to a move to Old Trafford. We know this to be palpably untrue, given his family history, which no-one seemed to be bothered to check. Where was The Sun’s man in the North East?
“The other story that jarred was the most recent one — having got it wrong all summer, Talksport aren’t letting the small matter of a new contract stop them peddling the same stories.”
With the departure over the past 13 months of the Swedish striker, the Italian gambler, the Scouse speedster and our erstwhile skipper, Hall is probably our most marketable current asset. There’s certainly no shortage of media outlets keen to encourage his exit from St James’ Park.
Should Newcastle United fans be flattered by the plethora of stories linking Lewis Hall to richer rivals? Having watched the Salfords stumble to another defeat (a second in four Premier League games this season) I can understand their need for a decent left-back.
Neither are Liverpool exactly watertight in defence. Bayern Munich? Perhaps not. Weren’t they meant to be signing a bloke who is now at Barcelona, a club he says he had been waiting to join since the age of three?
I wonder whether clubs with more money than sense pay some members of the Fourth Estate to publish stories intended to unsettle young footballers. That’s what Hall is, barely 22 and still well short of making 100 Premier League starts.
He joined United aged 18 in 2023 on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy. The £28m we paid Chelsea for him on July 1, 2024 was an inspired gamble. Some you win . . .
Last season he played in 30 Premier League games. In 2024/25, he managed 27 before an injury at Anfield curtailed his campaign and cost him a triumphant appearance in the League Cup final. His first season at St James’ Park brought 18 Premier League appearances.
Hall’s senior debut for Chelsea was in the FA Cup third round on January 8, 2022. He was exactly 17 years and four months old. In the following season he made his Premier League bow, lasting 73 minutes before some bloke called Cucurella replaced him.
I’d like to know what the lifelong Newcastle United fan made of that match. It was at St James’ Park and Chelsea lost 1-0 to a Joe Willock goal . . . Who said football was a funny old game?
This season Hall is ever-present. Having just signed a contract that in theory ties him to United until 2031, his future looks assured.
Nothing is certain and nothing is for ever but I for one will be surprised if he doesn’t go on to become the best and most important left-back since the 1960s to grace the black-and-white stripes. Perhaps that will finally quash the seemingly ceaseless speculation.