Newcastle’s position is unambiguous.
After parting with Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali earlier in the window, and with Bruno Guimaraes edging towards Arsenal, the club has drawn a line at Hall.
United, though, have decided he is the one they want. Fabrizio Romano confirmed on his YouTube channel that the 21-year-old England international has been given the internal green light at Old Trafford as a priority target.
“He is on Man Utd’s list, for sure, and he is a player internally approved at Manchester United.”
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Contact between the clubs so far has been informal rather than a full offer.
“Man Utd are having some contacts to understand the situation of Newcastle’s stance and situation,” Romano said.
TEAMtalk has reported that United are drafting a £60m offer to test Newcastle’s resolve. That would make Hall United’s biggest summer signing, ahead of the £50m paid for Andrey Santos.
Jaissle inherits a stripped squad
Newcastle’s summer has been dominated by outgoings. Matthias Jaissle was appointed head coach on 1 August, replacing Eddie Howe after the club paid £9.5m in compensation to Saudi side Al-Ahli for the 38-year-old German.
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He met the squad in La Manga for the tail end of pre-season with a rebuilt spine and multiple senior names already gone.
Losing Hall, whose contract runs to 2029, would gut the left side of the defence just as Jaissle takes charge. That is the argument for holding firm, even at £60m.
The first bid at a rival that will not sell
Michael Carrick, Manchester United head coach since 13 January, has already added Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and others as part of a busy summer window.
Hall is a different question. It is the first move of the window aimed squarely at another Premier League club that has no interest in negotiating.
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Andy Mitten, writing for United We Stand, has reported that Hall would favour a move to Old Trafford if he does leave Newcastle.
Director of football Jason Wilcox is leading the approach and sees the England international as Luke Shaw’s long-term successor.
Romano was blunt about the difficulty.
“Newcastle will make their life complicated. Newcastle don’t want to sell Lewis Hall.”
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The Premier League summer window closes at 23:00 BST on Tuesday 1 September, leaving roughly four weeks for United’s INEOS-led hierarchy to turn internal approval into a signed contract.
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