‘Special’ Chelsea player is about to sign a new contract and then head out on loan

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Chelsea defender Lewis Hall could be set for a loan move to Crystal Palace this summer.

That is according to the South London Press.

Their report states that Palace are working on a deal to sign Lewis Hall, who is expected to put pen to paper on a new contract before leaving Stamford Bridge.

The 18-year-old did not feature too regularly last season, making just eight starts in the Premier League.

As well as at left-back, Hall can also play in midfield, so he could be a very useful asset to Palace or whichever club he ends up joining.

A loan move makes perfect sense

Chelsea have a lot of left-back options right now, so it may be best if Hall does spend some time away from Stamford Bridge.

The Englishman is currently fighting Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella and Ian Maatsen for a place in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI.

All things considered, Chelsea should just move Cucurella on. He really struggled last season and is now blocking the pathways of two extremely talented youngsters in Hall and Maatsen.

“His defending is bad but, a lot of the time, he was overloaded as well,” former Blues striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink said on Sky Sports after one of the Spaniard’s performances in the 2022/23 campaign.

However, with Chelsea having spent over £60m on him, understandably, they will not want to give up on such a huge investment so quickly.

It is why Hall, and even Maatsen possibly, will probably have to leave west London this summer.

There is no doubting the England U21 international’s potential, with Pat Nevin tipping him to become a “special talent”. But that will not happen if he is not playing, which is why a loan move could be so important for his development.

Therefore, Hall should join Palace and spend some time working with Roy Hodgson. And if that goes well, perhaps he could challenge Chilwell for the left-back spot at Chelsea in the 2024/25 season.