Matthias Jaissle’s first job should be to name Newcastle star as new captain

Matthias Jaissle is the new Newcastle United manager, and it’s the start of an exciting era on Tyneside, but he needs a new captain.

After four-and-a-half years, Bruno Guimaraes is set to depart Newcastle to join Arsenal in a £75million deal.

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Not only is the Brazilian a world-class midfielder, but he was also the club’s skipper.

However, that time as the Toon’s captain is over as a whole new leadership group prepares to take over.

Guimaraes was Eddie Howe‘s main man in every way, and Jaissle needs a replacement for the 28-year-old.

Most people would gravitate towards Dan Burn, and that makes sense.

After all, he is from Blyth and is a boyhood Newcastle United fan, who has grafted from the very bottom to represent his club in the Premier League and score in a cup final to end 70 years of pain.

For those reasons alone, Burn would be a standout candidate to become the new captain, and should he be picked, I’d back him and understand just how much of a dream it would be for the England international.

But he isn’t who I think should be the new captain because that needs to be Lewis Hall.

Two-pronged attack

The reason I believe Hall should be the captain is based on a few points.

One, those pesky rumours linking him with Manchester United aren’t really going away, but it’s non-negotiable that Hall leaves this summer, next or the one after.

I am looking at a left-back that possesses truly elite qualities that will see him nail a place down in the England starting XI (he should have been this summer, but that is a different problem altogether).

Hall might be born in the south of England, but he is a true boyhood Newcastle fan with his dad a born and bred Geordie.

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At 21, Hall has so long left in his career, but he is one of Newcastle’s most established players and understands the club and what the fans want to see.

Giving him the armband would be a huge responsibility and honour that would be one of the proudest moments of his life, and something his dad would also love.

But making Hall captain shows to him just how highly the club value the player and just how much they need him to stay.

As others have left, keeping Hall and making him skipper would send a real message to potential suitors that Hall isn’t leaving Tyneside any time soon.

Of course, Guimaraes was captain, and he still departed, but if Jaissle gets the Toon firing with Hall as captain, a boyhood Newcastle fan would surely be happy to be along for the ride.

Along with making Hall captain, it should be a two-pronged attack from Newcastle by making him captain and also handing him a new contract.

Hall isn’t one of the highest earners at St James’ Park, but a new deal to elevate him to those heights and the captain’s armband is a clear sign that this left-back is a key part of Newcastle United 2.0 – as CEO David Hopkinson has dubbed it.

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Tactical importance

In Jaissle’s two head coach roles so far, the 38-year-old has played either a 4-3-1-2 or 4-2-3-1.

But as opposed to Howe, who loved wide triangles with touchline wingers and attacking full-backs, a lot of the attacking play from Jaissle’s teams goes down the middle of the pitch.

This means that the full-backs are crucial in keeping width, so Jaissle’s left-back and right-back need to have engines to drive up and down the pitch and create crossing opportunities in space rather than from congested areas.

That means Burn is unlikely to be deployed at left-back by Jaissle while he was by Howe.

Hall is also a superb crosser of a football, so with more space to operate in, the strikers should reap the rewards.

The tactical fit for Hall and Jaissle is perfect, and as long as he’s fit, he’ll probably play most games and should be in the XI as the captain.

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Stopping the rot

In the space of a year, Newcastle have lost a lot of their best players.

Alexander Isak started it by going on strike to force a move to Liverpool on transfer deadline day last summer.

Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali made their exits pretty sharpish this summer as well.

So, at some point these high-profile departures need to stop, and what better way to do that than get Hall to commit to a new deal and make him the captain.

It would be a very clear signal that this brilliant left-back is crucial to the next phase of the Newcastle project.

If it is Burn, I won’t begrudge him or be annoyed, but Hall would be the standout choice to herald a new era.