Brave Eddie Howe decision to go with these two young Newcastle United stars – Right way to go | OneFootball

Eddie Howe has taken the brave route with these two Newcastle United players.

Two signings made within a couple of weeks of each other.

Now regulars in this current Newcastle United team.

The easy/lazy option on transfers is to go for known players, ones who have played a lot of Premier League matches and you can pretty much know what you are getting for sure.

However, that comes at a price.

Also, everybody else is also after proven Premier League players and so the competition is fierce.

To go for younger players who you hope will be stars of the future AND who you look to also quickly get up to the level needed to start playing regular first team football, is the brave choice.

It can of course go badly wrong as well.

If paying big/biggish money overwhelmingly based on potential, then there will always be the possibility of that potential not developing to the levels needed. There are countless tales of players who looked to have it all at an early age, looking nailed on to have a stellar future, but then it just not happening for them. Due to all kinds of reasons.

Which brings me to Eddie Howe signing Tino Livramento back in August 2023 for an initial £32m, then two weeks later the NUFC boss signing Lewis Hall on loan, with £28m to be paid in summer 2024 to make the deal permanent.

Some Newcastle United fans may choose to ‘forget’ the fact that they made some absolutely ridiculous comments on Lewis Hall last season. Ridiculous that Eddie Howe not playing him, what a pointless signing, and so on.

The fact that Lewis Hall was only 18 when he first arrived at St James’ Park, just not a factor in some people’s heads.

I remember when Hall made his first start in the 1-0 League Cup win over Man City. Some fans going way over the top in their criticism of the teenager, as Eddie Howe asked him to do a bit of a strange role, kind of midfield, that didn’t work. Lewis Hall subbed off at the break.

Similarly, when the injuries and fatigue were really setting in and United down to the bare bones, November 2023 saw Lewis Hall start away at Dortmund and so many fans swift to blame him for the key opening goal, when it was in fact Schar who had been tempted out of the box and out of position, the main factor in conceding that goal. It was also a thankless task that week when a knackered NUFC team lost at Bournemouth and Lewis Hall made his first Premier League start.

When Lewis Hall came back in the April and May of 2024 to start his other seven Premier League games last season, we all saw the benefit of best part of a year working under Eddie Howe. The chance to settle in and get up to speed, working wonders, on top of his undoubted talent and potential.

Lewis Hall continuing that into this season, what a talent he is.

At the same time, fans have to also keep reminding themselves that he is still a work in progress, turning 20 last month, Lewis Hall has still only started 21 Premier League matches in his entire career. He is only going to get better and better BUT will at times show his youth and inexperience.

Very similar with Tino Livramento.

He is 21 but having missed almost a full year of football due to serious injury, when at Southampton, he is also a young player who is only going to get better and better.

Tino has only 42 Premier League starts in his entire career so far and fans need to remind themselves of that at times.

Special irony today, as these are two young talents that Chelsea produced, but as is their way, then sold on in order to help fund their ‘plan’ of recruiting first team players from elsewhere, favouring that over homegrown.

Two young stars who Eddie Howe and Newcastle United have invested £60m+ in the very early days of their careers, they had only made 33 PL starts between them before arriving at St James’ Park.

They are showing themselves to be fast developing exciting young stars for Newcastle United already, yet another two excellent Eddie Howe signings.