The two youngsters arrived at St. James’ Park this summer but are yet to start for the Magpies#

Newcastle United had one eye on the future with the signings of young upcoming talents Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall this summer. The latter of the duo arrives on a season-long loan from Chelsea with an obligation to buy come the following summer transfer window.

The combined transfer fee for the young defenders is in the region of £63million although neither player has started for Newcastle since making the move to St. James’ Park last month. Although it should come as no surprise to see Eddie Howe take his time to be the young talents in on Tyneside, the amount of money spent on the pair has left somewhat of a clamour to see them start in a black and white shirt.

Hall only played around 75 minutes in pre-season for Chelsea so he’s still building up match fitness; the reason behind him making the Newcastle squad on just one occasion this season – the 3-1 drubbing against Brighton. Livramento was an unused substitute on that occasion, as he was against Aston Villa and Liverpool.

The young-right back was a late substitute in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, but he’ll also be hungry for more game time. It’s a strange part of the season for Howe and his players.

Just one win from the opening four games of the season leaves the Magpies lagging behind the early European chasing pack, although it’s been a tough start to the season. The return to domestic action after the international break sees Newcastle take on Brentford, a side they’ve fared well against on home soil in recent years.

However, Howe rarely tinkered with the best defence in the division last season and you would expect Keiran Trippier and Matt Targett to maintain their starting roles on either side of defence, so long as Sven Botman doesn’t make a return to full fitness, which you would expect to see Dan Burn move back across to left-back. Both Hall and Livramento could get further minutes from the bench against the Bees with the Champions League in mind just days later, but that’s likely to be results dependant.

Howe has not hidden his desire to protect the youngsters, with their lofty price tags reflecting the potential they have, rather than their current ability. That’s not to detract from the fact both youngsters have Premier League experience and impressed when called upon at their previous clubs, more so to give them time to settle in with Newcastle’s way of playing.

Newcastle then kickstart their Champions League campaign with a trip to AC Milan, where you would again, expect Howe to name an experienced side to deal with the hostility of the San Siro. The Magpies’ trip to Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield United is another good opportunity for either youngster to start, though it seems unlikely they’ll both be given their full debuts at the same time.

Livramento seems to be further ahead of Hall in terms of fitness and it could be the first start for the youngster in a black and white shirt. As for Hall, he’s currently away on international duty with England U20s and was one of three players called up to Gareth Southgate’s first-team training session to make up the numbers, alongside Bashir Humphreys and Alfie Devine.

All three are tipped for bright futures and it’s a promising sign in terms of fitness for Howe to bear in mind. The following fixture in the Carabao Cup would present a good opportunity, on a normal day, for Howe to rotate his side as he did last season.

Again, like the Champions League draw, the Carabao draw has not been kind with a home clash with Man City on the cards. Pep Guardiola has been known to rotate his side for the competition and Hall excelled against City last year with Chelsea.

Much of this will also depend on players coming through the international break unscathed with Trippier away on international duty with England. There’s plenty for Howe to consider in the coming weeks and injuries may force his hand.