Manchester United Prioritizes Harry Amass Over Lewis Hall
Manchester United’s summer rebuild has gathered pace, but one position many expected them to strengthen may now be left alone.
The club have tracked Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall for months and regard him as an ideal fit at left-back. Yet, according to fresh indications, United are prepared to step back from a deal and put their trust in one of their own.
Hall admired – but Newcastle dig in
United’s business has already been aggressive. Andrey Santos has arrived from Chelsea for £48m, Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for £35m, Karl Darlow on a free from Leeds United and Tynan Thompson from Tottenham for £8m. The focus remains on adding a third midfielder and a left-sided forward, with a new left-back originally high on the list.
Hall, who impressed for Newcastle last season, has been a long-standing target. Fabrizio Romano has repeatedly underlined United’s admiration, stressing that the England youth international is not just a name on a shortlist but a player “internally approved” at Old Trafford and seen as an ideal addition.
The problem is Newcastle.
Romano has been clear that Newcastle intend to make United’s pursuit as awkward as possible. The Tyneside club have already banked major fees this summer from Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes, with Guimaraes expected to join Arsenal once a club-to-club agreement is finalised. With that money in the bank, Newcastle see no need to cash in on Hall and have sent a firm message: he is not for sale.
United have held exploratory contacts to gauge the situation, but any full-scale push hinges on a change of stance from St James’ Park. For now, that change has not come.
Internal solution: Amass pushes to the front
So United are looking inward.
Football Insider report that the club are prepared to “block” a move for Hall and instead accelerate the development of Harry Amass, the highly rated left-back who enjoyed a strong loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday last season and has impressed in pre-season under Michael Carrick.
Former United chief scout Mick Brown, speaking to Football Insider, believes the club’s priorities lie elsewhere.
“Lewis Hall is a very talented player, there’s no doubt about that,” Brown said, acknowledging the defender’s appeal to top clubs. But he underlined that a new left-back “isn’t a priority” compared to the need for another central midfielder and a winger.
Brown also pointed to Luke Shaw’s resurgence. The England international has been “ultra consistent” under Carrick and appears to have put his injury issues behind him, giving United a reliable first-choice option on the left.
Behind him, Amass is building a compelling case. Brown says the youngster is “very highly regarded” inside the club and has already caught Carrick’s eye with his pre-season displays. Strong loan spells last season have shown he can handle senior football, and United are wary of blocking what many at Carrington see as a natural pathway into the first team.
“So they don’t want to block his pathway into the first-team,” Brown explained, noting that Amass has long been tipped as United’s future left-back when the time is right. Bringing in Hall, he argued, would be a good move in isolation but not an essential one in a position where United feel strong both now and for the years ahead.
That stance also explains why links to Fulham’s Antonee Robinson have cooled. For the moment, United’s left flank looks set to be Shaw, backed by a club-bred talent they are determined to nurture.
Vitek set for permanent exit
While one defender’s future remains in the balance, another is heading for the exit.
Goalkeeper Radek Vitek is undergoing a medical at Middlesbrough after agreeing terms with the Championship club. The two sides have settled on a permanent deal that could climb to £14m with add-ons, a significant fee for a player on the fringes of the first team at Old Trafford.
It is another sign of United’s willingness to trim the squad and generate funds as they reshape the group under INEOS, with central midfield and the wing positions now taking priority.
They have “done their stuff in June, July,” as Romano put it, but the market is far from over for United. The question now is whether their faith in Amass will hold firm when the window tightens and opportunity knocks again for Lewis Hall.
