“That’s what happened”- Mauricio Pochettino explains why Chelsea sold highly-rated 19-year-old this summer

Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea had many players in the Lewis Hall position which led to his loan move to Newcastle

Mauricio Pochettino reveals why Chelsea loaned Lewis Hall to Newcastle United last summer. The Argentine manager claimed the Blues had plenty of options, which led to the exit of the youngsters.

Hall has been at Chelsea for nine years, and last campaign he was promoted to first-team after injuries to Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella. The 19-year-old made an eye-catching debut for the Blues and became a first-team player.

It wasn’t expected that the Blues would allow the left-back to leave when Newcastle paid £28 million with an obligation to buy. It’s likely that Hall will join the Magpies once his loan is over there.

Mauricio Pochettino's side held Manchester City to a draw.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side held Manchester City to a draw.

Since joining Newcastle, the 19-year-old has only appeared in two games. It remains to be seen if he will be able to become their established player.

The youngster will be ineligible to participate against his former side when Chelsea play Newcastle United today, and now Pochettino shed some light on Hall’s departure from Chelsea, (h/t Metro), he said.

”He was a player with the condition to play here, but, at the same time, we had too many players in that position ahead of him,’ the Chelsea boss explained at his pre-match press conference. I think the player and club took the best decision from both sides. That’s what happened this summer.”

 Lewis Hall won't play against Chelsea when Newcastle face the Blues. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Lewis Hall won’t play against Chelsea when Newcastle face the Blues. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Hall’s evolution was tremendous at Chelsea, given the pressure he was under when the club was enduring a disastrous season and injuries to our starting left-backs. Hall didn’t disappoint and flourished last season; he was terrific and showed why he should start playing matches for first teams.

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It was hard to digest why he was allowed to leave, given the way he performed last season. There could have been many reasons why Pochettino saw Hall as sellable and if he could adjust to his style. Currently, we have Cucurella and Chilwell, while Ian Maatsen hasn’t been utilised enough in the left-back area. Chilwell is injured, and Pochettino has deployed Levi Colwill and Cucurella at left-back this season so far.