Newcastle United, Chelsea agree potential Lewis Hall transfer fee — report

Newcastle United and Chelsea have agreed on a potential transfer fee for 18-year-old Lewis Hall, according to a report from the Telegraph, not long after a potential deal was first mooted between the two teams. Newcastle will pay £28m up front, with £7m in further add-ons to meet Chelsea’s £35m asking price. The deal should also include a “meaningful” sell-on clause for when Hall becomes a superstar.

It’s unclear whether the move, if fully agreed, will end being a transfer or a loan with an obligation to turn into a transfer at the end of the season, but the fees involved are expected to be the same regardless of the specific structure. And either way, it would mean Hall leaving Chelsea despite making such a promising start to his career for us.

The Telegraph claim that the decision to agree a transfer is largely being motivated by Chelsea’s need to balance the books, though earlier reports spoke of Hall’s desire for regular first-team football, which is not likely to happen at Chelsea this season. And again, either way, it would mean Hall leaving us for good.

And that would be indeed unfortunate.