I am ready to replace Luke Shaw for England - I would have been the perfect signing for Man United

When Newcastle United committed to paying a fee potentially rising to £35million for teenage left-back Lewis Hall last summer, many eyebrows were raised.

After all, this was a player who had made just nine Premier League appearances for Chelsea and the jury was still out over whether he was good enough to justify that fee.

Manchester United fans will remember Hall scoring during Newcastle's 3-0 win at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup last season, and again in United's 3-2 win in May. But the doubts only grew during his first season on Tyneside.

Hall had to wait until November for his first Premier League start that season and was hauled off at half-time during a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth.

The same thing happened in a 2-0 defeat in the Champions League to Borussia Dortmund and people were beginning to question whether Magpies manager Eddie Howe really trusted him.

Howe always insisted publicly that they held great faith in Hall and saw his signing as a long-term investment that would eventually pay off in Newcastle's first team.

While initially he would play second fiddle to Dan Burn at left-back, a number of injuries finally saw Hall handed a consistent run of games as he started the last five games of last season.

But his improvement this season has been immeasurable. He has featured in every Newcastle game, with the Toon Army heading to Old Trafford on Monday having ended Boxing Day in fifth place in the Premier League.

Hall has become one of the first names on the team sheet and his consistency, in a fairly inconsistent season for Newcastle, has proven to be a revelation for Howe.

"He has played really well this season. He has been very consistent," Howe said earlier this month.

"He has been a real shining light in