A £70m offer from Manchester United for Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall should secure the deal, according to a report, and he could become Eddie Howe’s first signing at Old Trafford. Howe is the frontrunner to replace Michael Carrick, who is expected to be sacked after a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth. According to Football365.com.
Lewis Hall could be Howe’s first United signing, with £70m the hurdle
Football Insider claims Hall remains a leading left-back target for United, even though he signed a new contract with Newcastle last month. A £70m offer would be enough to complete a January deal, the report says, and United’s interest is only likely to grow if Howe takes charge.
The report quotes journalist Pete O’Rourke, who accepts that extracting Hall from Newcastle will be harder and notes the price tag was prohibitive in the summer as well. He says United still see him as a potential long-term mainstay at left-back, but expects a fee of “at least £70million-plus, probably” given his contract situation and his performances for Newcastle and England.
Director of football Jason Wilcox has chosen Howe as his preferred successor to Carrick, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe is prepared to back him with the likely appointment, as things stand. Julian Nagelsmann, Unai Emery, Fabian Hurzeler and Antonio Conte are also on United’s radar. Carrick’s side dropped to 16th in the Premier League table.
Sportbible suggested on Sunday that Howe could request the signings of Hall, Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite and Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in January. The outlet has also claimed that Bournemouth’s Adrien Truffert could emerge as a backup target for United if Hall remains at St James’ Park.
Sky Sports states that Howe is interested in speaking with United about the role, even though he left Newcastle in order to recharge. TEAMtalk has revealed that the backroom staff who worked with him at Newcastle are ready to follow him to Old Trafford, should concrete talks begin with INEOS chiefs.
The job still carries risk, as talkSPORT discussed, with Ally McCoist and Jeff Stelling debating whether players and managers should move to United amid the club’s current struggles. McCoist claimed players would choose Manchester City, Arsenal or Liverpool instead, and Stelling said the same applies to managers: “if I’m Eddie Howe I’m not going anywhere near this.”
