Can Lewis Hall be ‘the new Patrice Evra’ at Man Utd? Legendary Red Devils left-back sends ‘worst game of your life’ warning to Newcastle defender amid transfer rumours

On the back of securing Champions League qualification last season, United have handed a two-year contract to Michael Carrick - turning him from interim boss and into a permanent one. He is being trusted with important recruitment calls.

Having seen veteran Brazil international Casemiro depart, reinforcements in the engine room have been a top priority for the Red Devils. Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans have helped to tick that box, with both figuring prominently across a series of friendly fixtures.

There has been talk of another striker being targeted, as Benjamin Sesko remains the only out-and-out No.9 at the so-called ‘Theatre of Dreams’, while Marcus Rashford is being absorbed back into the fold following a productive loan spell at Barcelona.

Questions have been asked of United’s defensive unit, with it widely considered that upgrades can be found in that department. Hall would be a useful long-term option, at 21 years of age, to compete with Luke Shaw at left-back.

The Red Devils are supposedly prepared to pay £60 million ($81m) for the England international, but even that might not be enough to tempt Newcastle into a sale - given the mass exodus of top talent that has already headed out of St James’ Park.

Alternative options may yet be explored, with Evra - who won five Premier League titles and the Champions League during his time at Old Trafford - telling GOAL, in association with Stake, when asked about efforts to find another suitable successor to the throne that he once filled: “You have to be careful. With [Tyrell] Malacia, people wanted to say straight away, ‘this is the new Patrice Evra’. I say for all due respect, when you play for United, it's different. The jersey is really heavy.

“Luke Shaw could have been the one, but unfortunately he had that bad injury when he broke his tibia. And to recover from that, I think what he's doing is amazing. He can perform in a World Cup because it's just three months and people couldn't understand why for the English national team he's performing so well. But it's tough. And I had a talk with Luke, it was like maybe five years ago. And you know, when you have that kind of injury, you don't want to go 100% in the challenge again because you still have some trauma.

“So that's why we need someone to come. Hall is a good left back. But like I say, I don't like to be carried away. Malacia was ‘the new Patrice Evra’.

“Even myself, I was looking and saying wow. Then after one injury or whatever, something happened. When you want to be the new Patrice Evra, you need to play nine years consistently. You need to play even more than the goalkeeper. It will be your first challenge when people want to compare players with myself.

“Then after, of course, you need to be good defensively and offensively. So what Hall is doing with his club right now? Yes, but I always say when you play for another club, when you do a good game, people will say it was an amazing game. And when you play for United, a good game is normal. A super game when you play at your best, they will say it's normal.

“When you play a normal game, they're going to say it's a bad game. When you play a bad game, they're going to say this was the worst game of his life. Are you ready to accept those kinds of critics? That's what we have to ask him.”

Having spent time on the books at Chelsea and Newcastle, while earning four senior caps for England, Hall is accustomed to performing under the brightest of spotlights. He should have little trouble adjusting to life in Manchester.

United are, however, said to be exploring more budget-friendly alternatives - in a bid to free up funds for any late-window transfer raids - and it could be that somebody else is charged with the task of following in Evra’s illustrious footsteps.