Lewis Hall set for Newcastle medical as Chelsea make U-turn on £35m transfer

The 18-year-old remarkably leaves having signed a new six-year contract with an option for an extra year just last week.

Hall will initially only join Newcastle on a season-long loan to avoid Financial Fair Play (FFP) issues but they will buy him next summer with a £28m plus £7m obligation to buy included in the deal.

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Eddie Howe spoke about potentially signing Hall ahead of Newcastle’s trip to face Manchester City this weekend.

He said: “Let’s wait and see what happens today. He (Hall) is a player that I like. He’s very versatile and has a lot of potential.”

Chelsea rejected several bids from Newcastle and other Premier League rivals this summer, insisting Hall wasn’t for sale but changed their position this week.

Hall will compete against Dan Burn in the left-back position likely ending Newcastle’s interest in Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney.

Crystal Palace have been left disappointed after agreeing a season-long loan deal in principle which would cover Hall’s full wages last week.

Chelsea are beginning a second round of player sales after taking spending to close to £400m after completing a British transfer record £115m move for Moises Caicedo and a £58m deal for Southampton’s Romeo Lavia.

The decision to sell Hall helps balance the books with academy players having a book value of zero on the accounts and any sale representing ‘pure profit’.

Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah and Ian Maatsen could all leave Chelsea before deadline day on September 1.

Hall played 12 times for Chelsea and won the Academy Player of the Year award last season, following in the footsteps of Mason Mount, Reece James, Conor Gallager and now Newcastle defender Tino Livramento.