Lee Carsley insisted that his final England squad selection was not made with Thomas Tuchel in mind, but his decision to promote Lewis Hall could well benefit his successor.
Hall has established himself as Newcastle’s first-choice left-back this season and delivered perhaps his best performance for the club during last weekend’s 1-0 win over Arsenal, when he kept his future international teammate Bukayo Saka quiet.
Hall was not the surprise inclusion in the 26-man squad – that honour surely goes to Southampton centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis – but he was still an unforeseen pick given his lack of senior experience.
The 20-year-old cost Newcastle more millions in the bank (£35m) than he has Premier League starts (23) in his career; 15 for the Magpies since the start of last season, and eight for former club Chelsea.
He struggled to make an impact in his debut year in the North East, with Eddie Howe hinting that the fee Newcastle paid for Hall placed unfair expectations on him. Hall was just 18 when Newcastle signed him on loan with an obligation to buy.
Carsley’s fast-tracking of Hall into the senior setup is due to his quietly impressive form but also enforced by England’s glaring lack of depth at left-back.
“One of the fortunate things he has got is he is left footed and playing at left-back,” Carsley acknowledged.
“We haven’t got a lot of them and we have had to be creative in some of the players we have put there.”
Although Carsley has utilised a four-man defence in his four matches in charge, he hasn’t picked a specialist left-back in any of them.
Chelsea centre-back Levi Colwill played on the left against the Republic of Ireland in Carsley’s first game, Manchester City right-back Rico Lewis started there in matches with Finland and Greece, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, deployed as a central midfielder for the Three Lions during the Euros, filled in against the Finns in Helsinki.
The issue predates Carsley, of course. Gareth Southgate was criticised heavily for assigning the heavily one-footed Kieran Trippier the task of providing width on the left flank during the summer.
Trippier started – and struggled – in six of England’s seven games at Euro 2024 but was displaced by Luke Shaw for the final against Spain, once the Manchester United defender was deemed fit enough to start.
Shaw’s persistent injuries over the past couple of years have denied England a high-class left-back. Fitness issues have also stunted Ben Chilwell’s progress to the extent that he is now firmly out-of-favour at Chelsea.
The list of available, specialist left-backs playing regularly in the Premier League is a very short one. Only three fit the bill this season: Hall, Tyrick Mitchell (Crystal Palace) and Leif Davis (Ipswich).
Davis perhaps has a right to feel aggrieved at being overlooked, given he has created more chances than any other defender in the Premier League this season and has two more goal contributions than Hall.
Even so, outrage at his omission is unlikely to extend too far outside of Suffolk. Hall is four years younger than Davis and has the added benefit of having progressed through the age groups for his country.
Carsley confirmed that his assistant Ashley Cole, who he clarified will join him with the U21s after Tuchel begins work in January, had a say in Hall’s breakthrough. Cole worked with Hall at Chelsea as an academy coach and when he was part of Frank Lampard’s senior staff.
“Lewis is one we have been aware of for the last couple of years,” Carsley said.
“The challenge for Lewis is now to stay in the squad and the Newcastle team, but he is definitely a player who is going in the right direction.
“[He is] playing consistently, he attacks well, defends really well which is something that he has improved on and, yes, there is not that much competition.”
Tuchel, somewhat controversially, will not be in attendance for either of England’s fixtures next week, but will surely be an interested observer from afar as his start date draws nearer.
Working out how to mould Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka into a cohesive attacking unit behind Harry Kane is bound to be one of Tuchel’s most pressing concerns.
Solving England’s left-back problem is a less glamorous job but one that is arguably no less important. The lack of balance on that flank was painfully apparent in Germany.
Should Hall seize a big opportunity to impress over the next two games, Tuchel may feel less anxious about that particular issue when he slides his feet under his Wembley desk on New Year’s Day.
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