MANCHESTER UNITED have suffered a hammer blow after top target Lewis Hall agreed a new five-year deal at Newcastle.
The left-back, 22, will become one of Toon’s top earners after committing his future to the club until 2031.
The news comes after Sun Sport revealed on Wednesday that talks were underway over an extension with his previous package due to expire in 2029.
Now England international Hall has followed team-mates Lewis Miley, Sven Botman and Harvey Barnes in agreeing a new contract.
Sun Sport understands that United have identified him as the long-term successor to Luke Shaw.
However, they were knocked back this summer and told emphatically he was not for sale when they approached the North East club over a potential transfer.
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The Red Devils could still make another move next year, though this development significantly strengthens Newcastle’s hand regarding any sale.
The Magpies brought in £228m this summer by selling captain Bruno Guimaraes plus fellow stars Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali but were adamant the ex-Chelsea man was going nowhere.
Sporting director Ross Wilson has admitted that more big hitters will have to be sold over the coming windows – though the ultimate ambition is to hang on to their most-prized young assets.
But he says the club are embracing the player-trading model in order to reach their ambition of becoming title challengers by 2030.
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He told Sun Sport last week: “We hope they’re [star players] with us on our journey to 2030. But we’ve got a player trading model as well. Who knows what 2030 looks like in terms of the squad? I’m sure there’ll be players in the 2030 squad that aren’t in the 2026/7 squad – I hope there are anyway.
“Of course we want to have players here who are on a journey with us but equally if some of those players’ journeys go at rapid speed they might go somewhere else. But of course that’s normal, that’s part of football.”