Lewis Hall’s new contract will keep him at Newcastle until 2031 (Photo: Newcastle United)
Manchester United’s chances of signing Lewis Hall have taken a huge blow as details of his Newcastle United contract extension have been revealed.
It is no secret that Michael Carrick wanted to sign a new left-back during the summer transfer window, with Hall emerging as his top target.
The 22-year-old has developed into one of the Premier League’s best full-backs since leaving Chelsea for St. James’ Park three years ago.
His efforts have helped Newcastle win the Carabao Cup and qualify for the Champions League, though he was surprisingly left out of the England squad for the 2026 World Cup.
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That no longer appears to be the case however, as Newcastle announced on Friday that Hall has signed a new five-year contract with the club.
Moreover, as reported by The Athletic, there is no set release clause in the new deal, strengthening the Magpies’ position and making it more difficult for Man Utd to sign the player in the future.
Hall has two assists in the opening five games of the season (Photo: Getty)
It was reported that the Red Devils were still very interesting in making a move for Hall next summer, but he will now surely command a premium price tag.
Carrick has just one senior natural left-back at his disposal for this season in the shape of Luke Shaw, but Patrick Dorgu did play there in the Champions League win over Sabah on Thursday, and was named Player of the Match.
Man Utd face rivals Manchester City on Sunday in the Premier League, while Newcastle travel to Leeds United on Monday night.
Man Utd will find it even tougher to sign Hall now (Photo: Getty)
‘I’m absolutely delighted,’ Hall, who has played every minute of the campaign so far, said upon signing his contract extension.
‘It’s a really proud moment. It’s an absolute pleasure to play for this club and to represent the supporters. I know how much it means to them.
‘The fanbase and the support we get here, whether it’s at St. James’ Park or away, it’s the best in the league in my opinion. To be able to bring joy to their faces, it’s a big thing for me.
‘I obviously have a family connection with the club, which is incredibly important to us all. One of the main reasons I play is to make my family proud, and I know how much it means to them to watch me playing for Newcastle United.
‘It’s a really good place to be. It’s really pleasing with how we’ve started the season, especially with the new Gaffer and coaching staff coming in, and I think we can go on to achieve really big things.’
Arsenal’s defence of their title has got off to the perfect start with their mean defence picking up from where they left off. Sunderland await under the lights on Saturday night.
Chelsea fell just short at the Emirates last time out but will look to get back on track at home to Hull City.
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I remember Villa having a poor start last year, didn’t they? I think they didn’t win in five last year. There was no panic, so there’s no panic again. But I would fancy them to win and take all three points against Forest this weekend.
Villa are without a win this season (Picture: Paul Currie/Shutterstock)
They had a big win in Europe, A massive win to get three points away from home, and start their Champions League campaign, that was huge for them. Because I think maybe eight points or nine points got you into the playoffs last year, 16 got you into the top eight in the Champions League. So, with all that I would think they would get the three points this weekend against Forest.
Forest need a win as well. I thought they were very good against Liverpool, but I still think Villa will beat Forest this weekend.
Prediction – Aston Villa win
Betfair Predicts:
Aston Villa: 42% Draw: 29% Nottingham Forest: 29%
Bournemouth vs Brentford
Bournemouth should have been three or four up against Newcastle in that first half, albeit they got two deflected goals. The one thing and the one worry I would have for Bournemouth is because they go at you hard for 60 minutes, I just thought for the last half hour they faded.
It’s been a promising start for the Bees this season (Picture: Getty Images)
It’s very difficult to keep that pace up, the pressing and what have you, and how they do it. They do it really well though. And for the first hour I think they look really fit. Then they run out of steam, and they’ve conceded late goals all the time, which has really hurt them. I do think in this game they’re evenly matched and that’s why I’m going to go for a draw. I think it’s tough to choose a winner between them.
Prediction – Draw
Betfair Predicts:
Bournemouth: 39% Draw: 27% Brentford: 35%
Chelsea v Hull
If I’d have said to you before a ball was kicked that Hull be the only team in the 92 not to concede a goal in the league so far this season, you’d have laughed at me. Great credit to them and they have been brilliant. I do think that will end this weekend. I think Chelsea will beat them and they could score three or four.
Chelsea out to bounce back from Arsenal defeat (Picture: REUTERS)
Looking at Chelsea’s form, they are brilliant going forward but you can tell they’re going to concede as well. Alonso has still got issues to work out defensively. But in terms of going forward, particularly with those three, there’s not many better up top than those three and they will always cause you problems and always score goals.
Their issue is stopping them at the other end. Hull can frustrate them on Saturday, but I think they’ll have enough to beat them.
Prediction – Chelsea win
Betfair Predicts:
Chelsea: 80% Draw: 14% Hull: 7%
Crystal Palace v Ipswich
Ipswich had a good start when they beat Sunderland the first day of the season, but we have not seen a lot from them since. Palace had a great win against Fulham. They had to win, they had to get something out of that game, Palace. Otherwise, we would have been talking like we are about Fulham, about Palace. I think it’s important they carry on the momentum. So, I think Palace will have enough to beat Ipswich. I think it’s a big game for both clubs.
When you look at what Palace did last week and getting the points against Fulham, I think they’ll look at this game again, particularly being at home, as another game that they could pick up three points. It’s a big game. So yeah, I think Palace will beat them at home.
Prediction – Crystal Palace win
Betfair Predicts:
Crystal Palace: 51% Draw: 25% Ipswich: 24%
Liverpool v Fulham
I think Liverpool should win this and they will do. They got a good result in Europe on Wednesday, but they do have defensive issues again but being at Anfield I think they’ll have enough to beat them.
It’s really important Isak stays fit for Liverpool. It’s really important he keeps up that form he has started in. It’s exactly what he needed personally to have a good start after what happened last season for him and for Liverpool.
Isak at the double last time out (Picture: Action Images via Reuters)
I said before a ball was kicked, I was slightly concerned with Palace, with Fulham, one or two others. So, I’m not really surprised to see Fulham start the season like they have. Arbeloa needs to win and quickly. If he doesn’t, then you know what’s going to happen. I think there’s two games left before the international break in the league. So, Fulham need to get something in those two games.
Prediction – Liverpool win
Betfair Predicts:
Liverpool: 68% Draw: 19% Fulham: 14%
Tottenham vs Everton
It was a brilliant strike from Maitland-Niles, and a good comeback for Everton against Man United last week. Clearly it doesn’t take away the issues they’ve got in terms of their forward positions and the numbers that they’ve got in the squad. But that was a big point for them last week against Manchester United. Spurs are desperate to get a win and score goals. It’s a tough one to call this one. I’m gonna go for a draw.
Prediction – Draw
Betfair Predicts:
Tottenham: 47% Draw: 27% Everton: 27%
Sunderland vs Arsenal
Arsenal are very solid, they’re strong in every position. Sunderland got a good point away at Brentford last week, but I think Arsenal will have too much for them. I think Arsenal will have too much for most teams this season. So, I am going for Arsenal to win and continue their strong start to the season.
Prediction – Arsenal win
Arsenal already in fearsome form (Picture: Matt Impey/Shutterstock)
Betfair Predicts:
Sunderland: 12% Draw: 23% Arsenal: 66%
Coventry vs Brighton
I was really impressed with Coventry last week against Man City. They were really unlucky to come away with nothing. They can take a bit of confidence from that performance. I am going to go for them to get their first point. Brighton will come to Coventry looking to get something, but I think it will only be a point this weekend.
Prediction – Draw
Betfair Predicts:
Coventry: 24% Draw: 25% Brighton: 52%
Manchester United vs Manchester City
It’s not ideal that Man United played in Europe on Thursday and City played on Tuesday, but you can’t ever use it as an excuse. That’s what they played for last year is to get into the Champions League. So, there’s no point in moaning that you now play on a Thursday and a Sunday. But I do get that they would want a level playing field with City playing on Tuesday.
Sesko hoping to start against City (Picture: James Gill – Danehouse)
Man United always give a bit extra in the big games. But now we’ve seen them against Hull, we’ve seen them against Everton last weekend, showing just how sloppy they were defensively. It’s a brilliant goal from Ainsley Maitland-Niles, but again I think they always pull something out of the bag for games like this. So I’m going to go for a draw and a point apiece.
Prediction – Draw
Betfair Predicts:
Man United: 30% Draw: 25% Man City: 46%
Leeds vs Newcastle
It’s always a ferocious atmosphere at Elland Road. It’s only down the road really, an hour and a half down the road from Newcastle, so there’ll be thousands of fans travelling down there. Elland Road’s a great atmosphere. I’m going to go for a Newcastle away win and I hope the boys can keep this good run going.
The 21-year-old does not have a great amount of experience, most of which came during last season on loan at Cagliari, where he made 37 appearances in all competitions.
The right-back did enough in that season to earn his first two caps for Italy, won in March this year, and ultimately a huge move to the Premier League.
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Injury has caused his early Chelsea career to stall, but he did impress in pre-season and hopes to make his competitive debut for the Blues soon.
Chelsea was not the only club interested in the Italian over the summer, with Liverpool also believed to have him on their shopping list before he moved to England.
The Athletic report that the Reds ‘explored the possibility of challenging Chelsea’ for the signing of Palestra over the last transfer window.
Marco Palestra featured and impressed in pre-season (Picture: Shutterstock)
Liverpool never followed through with the interest as their priorities were elsewhere in the transfer market.
After the departure of Mohamed Salah, the Reds needed to sign wide forwards, while the deal to bring in centre-back Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes was already agreed but went through over the summer.
Jeremie Frimpong remains first choice at right-back, with Conor Bradley not expected back from his long-term knee injury until November.
Marco Palestra has watched from the sidelines so far at Chelsea (Picture: Shutterstock)
Palestra – who was also linked with a move to Inter Milan over the summer – is expected to feature regularly under Alonso this season when he has recovered from a knock picked up in training.
Speaking of the Italian’s spell on the sidelines, Alonso said this week: ‘It’s especially [frustrating] for him. He came with huge energy, huge desire to enjoy his game in the Premier League.
‘He had a very good pre-season and a few days before the first game against Fulham, he picked up an injury.
‘It’s part of the life of a football player to come back from injury and we will need him for sure. He has great potential and will add a lot of good qualities we need in the team.’
Chelsea host Hull City in the Premier League and there remains a chance Palestra could feature in the squad for the first time.
The Gunners eventually made their dominance count with 15 minutes left on the clock when Martin Odegaard capped another man of the match performance with a sumptuous strike from the edge of the penalty area.
Arsenal’s margin of victory could and should have been greater but wayward finishing from the likes Bukayo Saka and Piero Hincapie meant Mikel Arteta’s side were forced to lean into their defensive strength to seal three points.
Even without without William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera and Jurrien Timber, last season’s finalists were comfortably able to restrict the Serie A side and their former Manchester United striker.
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Summer signing Ezri Konsa gave another commanding display alongside Gabriel Magalhaes and Hojlund admitted the challenge of making an impression against Arsenal’s defence was just as formidable despite the absences of so many established stars.
‘It’s hard for me to rank them because they obviously have a lot of good defenders,’ Hojlund told TNT Sport.
‘They have Mosquera and Saliba out and they just put Konsa in and so it’s a strong side.
Ezri Konsa already looks like a shrewd addition following his move from Aston Villa (Credits: Purini/Insidefoto/Shutterstock)
‘I think also Gabriel is the anchor of the team, I think he’s really, really strong he knows how to handle a duel.
‘I think I did well today even though I come off with nothing but I held up the ball well and it was good for me to try against the best of the best, even though we didn’t win.’
Overall, Arsenal created an xG of 4.31 to Napoli’s 0.21 but despite such a significant margin, Hojlund felt his side were unlucky not to come away with something tangible from the game.
Asked if he felt Napoli were worth a point, he added: ‘Yes and no. Arsenal created a lot of chances, and we were lucky to stay in the game, but we defended well.
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‘We have to admit that they are currently at a higher level than us. They are the champions of England and runners-up in Europe, so we need to look at ourselves, learn from this and continue to develop.’
Arteta, meanwhile, was thrilled with a near-perfect away performance which saw his side record a fifth win from five games in all competitions this season.
He said: ‘I’m very, very happy. A really tough place to come and a really different environment to play football – a beautiful one, by the way – against a really good team.
Martin Odegaard scored the only goal of the game against Napoli (Credits: Shutterstock)
‘I love the way we attacked the game, the way we competed, the hunger that we showed, the desire to dominate, to come here, to own the pitch, and the quality that we showed against a team that it’s so difficult to create chances against.
‘We created a huge amount of them and the result doesn’t reflect what we saw on the pitch.
‘The players were immense, and to play with that personality, with that conviction and with that quality in the Champions League away from home, it’s something that I’m extremely pleased about.’
Former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino thinks the Blues got off lightly (Picture:Getty Images)
Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea should be stripped of the 2016-17 Premier League title and it should be handed to Tottenham Hotspur.
The Argentine, who went on to manage Chelsea, was in charge of Spurs at the time as they finished second, seven points adrift of Antonio Conte’s Blues.
Conte’s side finished with 93 points, led by Diego Costa up front and a fabulous season from Eden Hazard behind him, while the likes of N’Golo Kante, Gary Cahill and David Luiz all made the PFA Team of the Year.
Pochettino left after one season in charge of Chelsea (Picture: Getty Images)
Pochettino feels that the punishment should extend beyond this and Chelsea should not be considered champions in 2017 as they broke rules to win the Premier League. Instead, his Tottenham team should be awarded the title.
‘We should win one Premier League, we should have been awarded it,’ said Pochettino. ‘If that was true, then we deserve to be champions that year, for sure. They were punished, they admitted it? So that’s it. The title should be for the team that was second.
‘We can say that they scored goals, they won games. OK. But it’s completely fair to say that we didn’t compete before the start of the season with the same card. Maybe with the same rules, we could’ve signed some players that would have made the team better or scored more goals.’
Eden Hazard was key to Chelsea’s success in 2016/17 (Picture: Getty Images)
While the Blues had plenty of world class players at the time, it was suggested to Pochettino that Hazard made a particular difference.
‘Maybe yes,’ said the USA manager. ‘I have no doubt and I’m not scared to say the truth. The Chelsea fans will be upset with me. But if we were at Tottenham and broke the rules, I’d admit the same: “We don’t deserve the title because we broke the rules.”
‘It’s impossible if only some clubs play with offside and another plays with no offside. Or one plays with VAR and another plays with no VAR. For everyone it needs to be the same rules. And then you have the capacity to create the best team.
‘I don’t say that Chelsea didn’t play well, that Conte was not great. I don’t say that. I don’t want the message to be twisted. But if you broke the rules then ciao – you need to give it to another team.
‘I don’t know why that didn’t happen. What is being promoted and incentivised is to break the rules. If you don’t punish in the way that you need to punish, I say: “Yeah … I lost my job [at Spurs] because we didn’t win a title.”’
Pochettino was in charge of Spurs from May 2014-November 2019 and went on to manage Chelsea for one season in 2023/24.
FA statement on Chelsea punishment
An FA statement in July read: ‘A financial sanction of £10m and a suspended two-window registration ban have been imposed on Chelsea FC for breaches of the Football Association Football Agent Regulations, Regulations on Working with Intermediaries and Third Party Investment in Players Regulations. The FA charged Chelsea FC with 74 breaches of FA Rule E1.2 after its current ownership self-reported misconduct upon its purchase of the club. The FA is continuing to investigate individual misconduct arising out of this case.
‘Chelsea FC admitted to the 74 breaches of FA Rule E1.2 prior to a hearing and an independent Regulatory Commission imposed a six-point deduction, which was to be suspended until June 30, 2027, and a £10m fine.
‘The club appealed against the suspended points deduction and an independent Appeal Board allowed the appeal and set aside this sanction following a further hearing.
‘In its place, the Appeal Board imposed a registration ban for two complete and consecutive transfer windows which is suspended until 30 June 2027.’
The 28-year-old is into his sixth season with the Gunners after signing from Brighton for £50 million in July 2021.
Injuries and competition for places have meant he has not always been a regular starter, but he is approaching 200 games for the club.
White has been firmly in the starting XI so far this season as Jurrien Timber has been out injured and his impressive partnership with Bukayo Saka on the right flank has been on show again.
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The six-cap England international has taken on plenty of huge names while playing at right-back and in the middle of defence and it is a Three Lions teammate who stands out as his most difficult opponent.
Speaking to Men In Blazers, White said of the toughest attacker to mark in the Premier League: ‘I’d probably still go with [Marcus] Rashford, I think he’s the toughest I’ve played against.’
It is high praise for Rashford, who is back in the Red Devils side after a year away on loan at Barcelona.
Marcus Rashford is back in the Manchester United team this season (Picture: Shutterstock)
The 28-year-old, who scored for England at the World Cup over the summer, is yet to add to his Premier League goal or assist tally this season, but appears to have reintegrated into the Manchester United squad under Michael Carrick.
Rashford came off the bench against Hull City on the opening weekend of the season but then started the win over Ipswich Town and the draw with Everton on Sunday.
Looking to his own teammates, White also had praise for Riccardo Calafiori, who has had a brilliant start to the season with Arsenal.
Nominally playing at left-back, the Italy international is proving to be impactful all over the pitch, popping up in unexpected positions and adding threat going forward.
Riccardo Calafiori has made a brilliant start to the season with Arsenal (Picture: Getty Images)
Calafiori has already provided two Premier League assists this campaign and scored in the Community Shield win over Manchester City.
Aston Villa captain John McGinn recently named the Italian as the toughest defender he has come up against in the Premier League, so he really is ticking all boxes for Mikel Arteta.
Speaking on Stick to Football, the Villa skipper said: ‘Do you know who really surprised me? Calafiori. Calafiori and Luke Shaw would be my two hardest opponents.
‘Luke Shaw because I needed to completely adapt my game with Luke Shaw. Because we’re of similar build. He’s one I had to completely try and adapt [to].
Riccardo Calafiori is growing more and more in stature at Arsenal (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Calafiori was much stronger than I thought, I was really impressed with him.’
White said of his impressive teammate: ‘He can do everything really so it’s tough to stop everything that he does.
‘If one thing’s not working for him he’s got other tools to be successful, so it’s really hard to keep him down really.’
While trailing to Morgan Rogers’ early volley, Gabriel was perhaps fortunate not to see red after kicking Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the head during a scramble in the box.
The referee’s view was obstructed by several players and VAR did not intervene, much to the surprise of Manchester United legends Scholes and Nicky Butt.
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‘He should have been sent off,’ Scholes said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast. ‘I missed it at first but it should be a red card. He’s gone miles over the bar.’
After podcast host Paddy McGuinness suggested Gabriel routinely ‘gets away with murder’, Scholes responded: ‘He does, yeah.
‘You get some players like that. Like, say me or Nicky made a foul, we got booked. Then there’s other players who can make ten fouls a game and nothing happens.
Gabriel after Arsenal’s win over Chelsea (Picture: Getty)
‘They get up and go to the referee, “oh, I’m sorry”. Do you know what I mean? They get away with it when other players don’t, and he’s one of them, isn’t he?’
Fellow former England midfielder Butt added: ‘It was ridiculous. If they don’t think that’s a sending off then there’s no point of having VAR. I don’t understand it.’
Analysing the incident on BBC’s Match of the Day, Rooney said: ‘You don’t really see it at first sight but then when you see a replay and they slow it down…
‘Martinez has got the ball in his hands and Gabriel boots him in the head, he swings a leg and goes way over the top. He’s extremely lucky to stay on the pitch.’
Former England defender Ashley Young added: ‘I agree. When the ball is on the floor and Martinez has it, Gabriel kicks so high.
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‘I’m not sure why it hasn’t gone to VAR of if they’ve properly studied it because he’s nowhere the ball. He’s got away with one there.’
Mikel Arteta’s side have made a flawless start to their title defence, beating Coventry City, Aston Villa and Chelsea in their first three games.
Arsenal came from behind to beat Chelsea thanks to goals from ex-Blue Kai Havertz and Gunners skipper Martin Odegaard.
‘It wasn’t the right start but we certainly reacted in an amazing way,’ Arteta said in his post-match interview. ‘I enjoyed the way we competed; we took risks, it was a joy to watch and an incredible game.
‘They have a great coach who can set them up in great condition. With the quality they have, you feel they can create something out of nothing at any moment.
‘We constrained them well. Overall, it was an incredible performance from our side.’
