“Eddie Howe’s SHOCKING Lewis Hall Replacement REVEALED – You WON’T Believe Who’s Never Played a Minute for Newcastle!”

Eddie Howe has hinted that young defender Alex Murphy could soon feature more prominently in Newcastle United’s first-team squad, with the club currently short of options at left-back.

Lewis Hall remains sidelined with a hamstring problem, while Matt Targett is on loan at Middlesbrough, leaving Howe to reshuffle his defensive setup.

In recent weeks, Dan Burn has been deployed at left-back, with Sven Botman and Malick Thiaw forming a promising partnership in central defence.

Their understanding has developed impressively, and the pair are now viewed as the long-term core of Newcastle’s backline.

However, with a congested fixture list looming over the next two months — including league, European, and cup commitments — Howe must rotate his squad carefully to avoid fatigue and injuries.

Burn’s workload, in particular, needs managing, given his importance to the team’s balance and defensive structure.

That scenario could open the door for Murphy to make his mark. The 21-year-old featured briefly in the Carabao Cup win over Bradford City last month and played a notable role during pre-season while Hall was recovering from a foot injury.

Although Murphy has only three senior appearances for Newcastle and 16 in total in English football — after a productive loan spell at Bolton Wanderers last season — Howe acknowledged that the young Irishman is firmly on his radar.

“There’s not too many options, I wouldn’t say,” Howe admitted when asked about the position. “I haven’t got a rabbit in the hat that probably you wouldn’t have thought of.

It’s a concern for us because it’s such a key position. I think Dan’s played really well there in the last two games, but we’ve got players who can switch sides, which is always difficult.

Tino Livramento made it look easy, but it’s a very hard thing to do, and some players are more comfortable with it than others.

We’ve got Alex Murphy, who’s developing all the time and can play that role for us. Beyond that, I don’t think we have too many others.”

After the international break, Newcastle face a demanding run of fixtures that includes Premier League matches against Brighton, Fulham, West Ham, and Brentford, along with Champions League clashes against Benfica and Athletic Club, and a Carabao Cup tie with Tottenham Hotspur.

Meanwhile, Hall’s injury woes continue to mount. The 2025 calendar year has been a frustrating one for the young defender, who missed the final three months of last season — including the Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool — due to a foot injury.

Having only recently returned to action, Hall suffered another setback when he picked up a hamstring problem against Union Saint-Gilloise.

He missed the win over Nottingham Forest last weekend, and Howe confirmed after the match that further tests would be needed to assess the extent of the issue.

“He needs another re-scan in about 10 days,” said Howe. “It’s not going to be a short-term injury. We hope it’s not long-term, but we just don’t know yet.”