Lewis Hall declares Chelsea case to intrigue Mauricio Pochettino in local player plan
The 18-year-old played at left-back on Sunday after Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella were both ruled out for the rest of the season.
Moving to Manchester City after facing Nottingham Forest last week, Hall was brilliant in the defeat at the Etihad Stadium and showed his ability by keeping Riyad Mahrez quiet.
A much-changed City side proved too strong for Chelsea, who gave the champions a guard of honor before kick-off.
But the Blues put up a good fight and Conor Gallagher hit the post with a header from a whipping cross from Hall. The teenager himself managed two good efforts and finished the match having created the most chances for his team and with the most touches in the opposing box.
Stating his claim: Lewis Hall has impressed for Chelsea after injuries gave him a chance
/ Manchester City F.C. via Getty ImagesPochettino wants to build his Chelsea squad around a core of homegrown players and wherever he watched the game on TV, the Argentine was reportedly impressed with Hall.
Although he played on the left on Sunday, Hall is primarily a powerful central midfielder who has shown goalscoring threat at youth level with his consistent ability to kick the ball.
He has made all but one of his nine first-team appearances this season out of position and his versatility will please Pochettino.
So will his temper, having been thrown into the mix in four games against City this season, as well as away games at Liverpool, Newcastle and Fulham.
Unlike his teenage City counterpart Rico Lewis, Hall was forced to deal with his academy breakthrough under chaotic circumstances.
He didn’t play for almost four months after Chelsea took their spending this season to over £600m in January and found himself in limbo, splitting his training time between the first team and under-21 teams and often playing as a centre-back in the youth team.
Amid their struggles this season, Chelsea have apparently forgotten about Hall, despite the fact that he barely took the wrong foot.
He has just two years left on his contract and there is a feeling that young English players could be sold this summer to help the club stay in line with Financial Fair Play. [FFP] rules. Selling home stars would count as pure profit under the new version of UEFA’s FFP regulations, making it easier for Chelsea to balance the books.
But Pochettino will be intrigued to watch Hall closely. He’s turned talented young players like Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose into England regulars at Tottenham and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Hall ahead of Cucurella as Chilwell’s replacement next season.
Interim manager Frank Lampard described Hall on Sunday as a “quiet lad” who “certainly needs to get out of himself a bit more”, but said: “In terms of quality, if you see him with the ball and the things he can do, he has the levels.
Considering what he’s shown this season, Hall deserves at least the luck that Mason Mount, Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah have had before him.
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