Lewis Hall goes on loan to Crystal Palace but has signed a contract extension with Chelsea before that

As per an exclusive in Evening Standard, Lewis Hall has signed a new deal with Chelsea until 2030 before joining Crystal Palace on a season-long loan.

Hall’s new contract will last six years with an option to extend that by a year. Chelsea resisted an approach from Newcastle United to sign the youngster before sending him only on loan to Palace.

It is revealed that the friendship between Palace boss Roy Hodgson and Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino was a key factor behind this move.

If we understand this correctly, the former may have guaranteed the latter that Hall will get adequate playing time in the Premier League for the 2023/24 season.

The 18-year-old is a versatile player who can either play as a left-back or as a central midfielder. He did both of that while playing for Chelsea last season. But with Ben Chilwell, Ian Maatsen and Marc Cucurella in our ranks, he would have found it nearly impossible to get any sort of meaningful playing time here.

Hall is a technically solid player who is good on the ball and is getting better defensively. He would offer something different to the Palace team both on and off the ball.

A Chelsea player going on loan to Selhurst Park has had a glowing history in the recent past. Remember when Conor Gallagher went there for the 2021/22 campaign and absolutely smashed it?

The bar is set high for Hall to go there and instantly make an impact. He has the talent to do it as well. For just an 18-year-old, he has a mature head on his shoulders.

The advantage of sending a young player on loan to a fellow Premier League club is that you can take a closer look at him performing on a stage which is the same as where his parent club is competing. Hence, putting context into performances becomes easier.