Lewis Hall has become the fourth senior signing this summer, as he joins on loan from Chelsea. The club confirmed in their statement that there is an obligation to sign the 18-year-old should certain performance-related criteria be met.
This is an exciting signing for the club, as he was awarded the Chelsea academy player of the year in 2023. Two years prior, Tino Livramento had won this award. For both to sign for us this summer shows that the club are aggressively pursuing young players. Chelsea fans have been disappointed to see Hall leave, which hints at the quality of the player.
Due to Hall’s age and limited first team experience, there isn’t much data, so the following analysis comes with a small sample size warning. However, there is enough there coupled with video clips to outline the type of player that is arriving at St James’ Park.
Source: statsbomb
A lot of the discussion around the signing has been focused on Hall’s position. In the above graphic, you can see that Hall played all of his first team minutes down the left wing. His main position for Chelsea was left back.
That is encouraging as we have lacked a dynamic left back option in the current squad. Hall will offer that and immediately bring competition for Dan Burn’s starting position. As he’s 18, he won’t be rushed into the team, but he provides a different tactical option in the squad.
However, it is too simplistic to call Hall a left-back. It would be limiting the ability that he has. In youth football, he played a lot in central midfield and he views his long term future in that area of the pitch. This season, I would predict that Eddie Howe will view his new signing as a versatile squad option. Most of his minutes are likely to come at left-back, but he will also be used in midfield and on the wing.
Source: statsbomb
The defensive full back radars shown above show how Hall’s past as a midfielder have impacted his style. He is excellent at reading the game, as shown by his possession adjusted tackles and interceptions. Hall averages 5.49 per ninety minutes, compared to Burn’s 3.34. Hall can be more aggressive in his style, whereas Burn does prefer to drop deeper, due to his lack of pace.
An impressive 16.8 pressures per ninety minutes underline why he was wanted by Eddie Howe. Athleticism is a prerequisite for any signing made by the club at the moment and Hall certainly has that. One weakness is his aerial ability, as he only wins 50% of his duels, compared to Burn’s 72%. As he gets older and gains more experience, it will be hoped that this area of his game will improve.
Source: statsbomb
The above graphic shows how Hall compares to Burn as an attacking full back. This is where the substantial differences in style are evident. Despite his defensive abilities and leadership, Burn has been a weakness on the ball, as opposition teams often leave him open. His limitations have been an issue.
Hall is a very good crosser of the ball, as shown by his 0.9 successful crosses per ninety minutes. His xG assisted per ninety minutes of 0.21 is very high and ranks him in the 97th percentile. This is significantly higher than Burn’s 0.04.
Throughout youth football, Hall was very effective at carrying the ball, while he has an eye for a forward pass. That hasn’t been as evident in senior football, but it will start to show more with more experience. His average of 1.28 open play key passes per ninety minutes does stand out. Against a team set up in a deep block or when we are chasing a game, Hall could prove to be a huge asset this season.
Source: statsbomb
When you compare Hall with Kieran Trippier, it is clear that he is still developing in senior football. He isn’t yet as good at progressing the ball through passing, but that is to be expected. Trippier is one of the best full-backs in the Premier League.
Like Livramento, you would expect that Hall will benefit massively from training and playing with Trippier.
Key passes
Source: statsbomb
In his limited time on the pitch, Hall did carry a big creative threat. He can feel very unfortunate that he didn’t get an assist, as he created chances worth 1.65 xG.
From the graphic, it is impressive how many of the chances are created around the penalty spot. This is a good shooting position and our forward players will relish that type of delivery.
In the current team, Burn rarely overlaps and when he does, it is as a decoy to create space for other players. If we do use Hall at left back, it will add another attacking threat to the team and we can become more varied in our build up as a result.
The examples of some of his key passes show the quality that Hall has, not only in delivery, but in his reading of the game. He releases the ball at the right time to create a dangerous chance. There are a few here that should have been converted. Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson will be relishing this type of delivery.
He displays good pace when he overlaps and that will be an asset this season. Hall really is at the opposite of Burn as a full-back, but that is a good thing for us and our squad.
The final clip shows his set piece ability, which could be important. We currently don’t have a left-footed set piece taker at the club. Kieran Trippier and Sandro Tonali are our primary options. Although it is unlikely Hall will take many set pieces, the option to take an inswinging corner from the right side is an attractive one.
10.8% of inswinging corners result in a shot that leads to a goal, which is higher than 6.5% of outswinging corners.
Source: statsbomb
Last season, we recorded the highest xG from corners, while we also had more corners than any other team. However, we only ranked 9th for goals from corners. Hall’s ability coupled with his favourite foot could help us improve our corners from the right side. As we do concentrate a lot of our attacks down that side, it is something that Howe will consider.
Playing when pressured
This is an area of the game where you would expect mistakes from Hall. At 18, he is still learning and to do that at Premier League level is difficult. However, he has generally performed well and not looked out of place at the top level.
One of the benefits of his past as a midfielder is Hall’s ability to receive the ball under pressure. He completes 90.4% (left image below) of his ball carries and this drops to 79.8% (right image below) whenever he is pressured. Although this is a drop, it is still an impressive success rate for a player learning his craft. There will be mistakes there, as he learns the pace of senior football.
Source: statsbomb
The above graphics show his pass maps, which tell a similar story. Hall’s pass completion is 82.6% from open play. This drops to 69.4% when he is under pressure. If he is to move ahead of Dan Burn in the pecking order, he will need to improve on these numbers, but at his age, you would expect progression in this part of his game.
Hall is still so young and at 18, he is still growing into his body and understanding how he can physically compete in senior football. His ability to pass the ball under pressure will improve in the next 12 months and you’d expect Howe’s coaching will be central to that.
Source: statsbomb
The above graphic shows how our current squad’s pass completion rate changes when they are pressured. It is no surprise to see Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes near the top of the list, as both are great when they are pressured and seen as press resistant. Hall is near the bottom of the list, but he’s young and still better under pressure than the player he is trying to displace.
In the video above, it is clear that Hall is comfortable at senior level. There are a few mistakes, but these are natural for a player of his age. His composure and decision making under pressure does look to be a strength. There is scanning of what is around him and he takes the appropriate decision more often than not.
The first clip shows the range of passing that Hall has, as he played a great cross field ball at St James’ Park last season. Meanwhile, the third clip shows his impressive ability to beat an opposition defender, before he makes an unforced error to give the ball away when it looked like his team were in a promising position. Hall is raw and needs to be coached, but the tools are there for him to be an excellent Premier League player.
Defensive ability
This is the biggest question mark when it comes to Lewis Hall. As an 18-year-old, you would expect some greenness off the ball. Defenders often get better with age as it is often the mental abilities rather than the physical ones that make a real difference.
Hall would add a more pacy option to our back line, as this is something that we have been desperately lacking. However, Burn’s aerial dominance isn’t often given the credit it deserves. It has helped us to become a good defensive team in open play and from set pieces. His leadership and organisational abilities can’t be understated either. It is clear that Howe likes to have Burn in the team.
Source: statsbomb
During his limited game time, Hall hasn’t looked out of place in the Premier League. He has faced Riyad Mahrez and Mohamed Salah, while holding his own. There have been a few untidy moments, but nothing that would scare you off playing Hall at left back in the Premier League.
One thing that is noticeable is how he will suit a pressing team like ours. Hall averages 16.8 pressures per ninety minutes, which is up there when compared to others in the position. The above graphic shows his defensive activity and you can notice the aggression in his style. A lot of his ball recoveries are around the halfway line, which will suit the way we defend.
There are some positive things to pick out from these clips. The way he defended against Miguel Almiron was impressive. Firstly, the way he used his body to dispossess the Paraguayan shows that he has upper body strength. In a later clip, he tracks the run of Almiron, manages to keep up with the pacy winger and reads the pass to intercept. These are very impressive individually, but as a combined action, it shows a player that can defend.
Hall likes to engage with attacking players as soon as they receive the ball. He doesn’t want to let them build up pace when running at him. This is a high risk strategy, but it seems to suit him. In a couple of the clips, he seems to perform one footed slide tackles well to win back possession. This could be an action that becomes his trademark defensively.
There is some untidiness with the ball in the clips. As we have mentioned several times, this is expected. Despite these, Hall is always quick to try to win the ball back and make up for his error. This shows his impressive mentality.
Source: statsbomb
The above graph shows Statsbomb’s HOPS model. This generates a player’s heading rating based on who a player has beaten or lost a headed duel to. Burn ranks the highest in our squad with a 0.77 rating. This isn’t surprising as his height helps him win lots in the air. Meanwhile, Hall’s rating is 0.52.
Although there can be some expectation for that to improve as he gets more experience and bulks out a little bit, he will remain a downgrade on Burn in the air. This is the trade off for Howe, as he decides whether the improved attacking threat is worth a decrease in aerial dominance.
However, to have options is the most important thing for a manager. Last season, we didn’t have an attacking option at left back.
Now we do in Lewis Hall. He will help us become a bigger threat down the left flank, especially against teams that set up in a deep block. Meanwhile, his crossing ability could help us improve our set piece efficiency with inswingers from both sides of the pitch.
Chelsea supporters appear to be gutted to lose Hall. Despite his relatively small profile, this could be one of the best pieces of business we have done so far under the new ownership.
