Lewis Hall said it was a no-brainer to snub Manchester United’s transfer interest and extend his stay at Newcastle.
United were said to hold an interest in Hall for much of the summer as they looked to add cover and competition for Luke Shaw at left-back.
Hall did not have his head turned, though, and decided instead to extend his contract with the Magpies until the summer of 2031.
That decision was despite a summer of turmoil at St James’ Park which saw Eddie Howe make the surprise decision to leave the club and Matthias Jaissle installed as his replacement.
But it was early talks with Jaissle that ultimately convinced him to stay in situ.
Asked whether he felt the weight of the speculation this summer, Hall told Chronicle Live: "No. I guess whenever you're linked to another team, you know that you're doing something right.
“I guess it's just a credit to your own performances and how you are as a player, how you are as a person.
"I took that as a positive, but at the same time, I knew how much I love playing here and I knew that since the manager came in, I knew the ambitions and what we wanted to achieve.
"After not many conversations, not many training sessions, I knew that the manager was going to be really good for this club and I knew that as a team, bringing in new players and improving the squad was really important and as soon as we did that, it was a no-brainer really to sign."
Newcastle have made a bright start to life under Jaissle, taking eight points from their first five Premier League outings.
Hall only had good things to say about his new head coach: "He's a top guy. He's been so good to me.
“He gives me the licence to express myself as long as I do the defensive work and do the running that's required for this position, which is quite a lot of work.
“But I'm happy to do it as long as it benefits the team. He's been a positive for everyone who's come in so far."
