Barcelona vs Newcastle: Yanal’s anti-Lamin will be among the best in the world

The stars seem to be aligning for club and country.

The World Cup is a “motivating factor” for Hall, and there are still question marks surrounding who will play in his position for England this summer.

Hall, who has two caps for his country, has not yet been called up under Thomas Tuchel after an injury-interrupted period in his emerging career.

But that will certainly change when the England coach announces his squad for the friendly matches against Uruguay and Japan on Thursday.

Tuchel certainly knows him well.

The England boss gave Hall his Chelsea debut at just 17 years old in 2022, and saw the left-back in action against his former club and Manchester City this month.

Hall was a high-profile talent at Chelsea, but he has come a long way since Tuchel first tried him out in a back three against Chesterfield.

Arnaud Michels, Tuchel’s long-serving assistant at Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, knows this better than most.

“It’s incredible to see how much Lewis has developed – and he’s still only 21 years old,” he said.

However, Hall will not get carried away.

Hall, by nature a level-headed character, not inclined to look beyond the next game, has been kept grounded by a close-knit family.

He never lost touch with his roots.

The defender still has a small circle of friends close to his native Penfield, where it all started in Slough, and has been returning to the village each of the past three summers to hand out trophies and medals at the annual junior football tournament in which he once played.

Hall has returned to represent his local cricket club relatively recently in 2024.

The left-back hasn’t forgotten those who helped him along the way either, such as Mark Robinson, his former manager with Chelsea’s Under-23s.

Hall even jumped into the stands to catch Robinson after Newcastle’s 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge at the weekend.

“There is a lot to come because Lewis is a very humble boy,” Robinson said.

“I can’t see that ever changing. You’ve got to keep learning, keep getting better, and he’ll do that.”