Dream Team bosses would do well to remember Lewis Hall's blazing pre-injury form
Continuing our SCOUT REPORT series, we're taking a closer look at Lewis Hall (£4.5m).
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Dream Team managers would be forgiven for momentarily forgetting about Newcastle's left-back as he's been sidelined since February.
Hall suffered a nasty foot injury that required surgery just prior to the Magpies' Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool.
Consequently, the 20-year-old missed the last three months of the campaign but, barring any setbacks, he is expected to be fit when the Toon get underway at Villa Park on August 16th.
When deciding upon their XI for Gameweek 1, Dream Team bosses would do well remember Hall's performances before his season was cut short.
He averaged 5.6 points-per-game in 2024/25, a rate bettered by just three defenders, one of them being Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is sadly no longer a Dream Team asset following his transfer to Real Madrid.
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Hall contributed seven assists in all competitions, putting him joint-fifth in the metric among players in his position.
One wonders where he would have ranked had he not missed a third of the season.
Add in 12 clean sheets and a healthy return of 25 bonus points and it's no wonder Hall racked up 189 points in swift time.
A common opinion among the St James' Park faithful is that Hall is destined to start for England at the World Cup next summer, such was his pre-injury form.
And Dream Team bosses weren't shy when it came to backing the ex-Chelsea defender last season.
A particularly fruitful burst of 55 points in five games during the festive period resulted in him becoming one of the most selected players in his position.
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It will be interesting to see what ownership Hall commands come Gameweek 1 although it's worth noting that Eddie Howe's side start their campaign with two relatively tricky league games against Aston Villa (a) and Liverpool (h).
It might be that gaffers keen on Hall wait until Gameweek 3 when Newcastle travel to Elland Road to face newly-promoted Leeds, with league outings against Wolves and Bournemouth to follow.
Additionally, Newcastle will start their Champions League campaign in September.
Hall and company did not have European commitments in 2024/25 and while they are likely to face tough opposition, a busier schedule should yield extra points.
At the time of writing, Hall features in just 0.3% of teams.
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