Newcastle United tying Lewis Hall down to a new long-term contract through until 2031 and without a release clause is among the most important moves the club has made recently, certainly in terms of perception.That may feel like a curious, almost hyperbolic statement, given up to £300million ($406.2m) has been committed to eight signings, including the exciting pair of Nico Gonzalez and Matias Fernandez-Pardo, and around €10m (£8.6m, $11.6m) was spent to extract Matthias Jaissle from Al Ahli and secure who Newcastle believe to be the ideal successor to Eddie Howe.The club has also, after almost five years of deferring big-ticket infrastructure project decisions, announced their desire to construct a £190m “world-class” training ground at Woolsington Hall estate near Newcastle International Airport by, they hope, the start of 2029-30.In the long run, a state-of-the-art, purpose-built training ground is essential if Newcastle are ever going to achieve the stated aim of David Hopkinson, the CEO, which is to be “consistently and credibly competing” for silverware by the end of the decade. Public confirmation of Newcastle’s intention to do just that helped to quell many of the persistent doubts amongst supporters as to how committed Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), their 85 per cent majority owners, are to the club.But much of the summer window was dominated by the ‘optics’ — an oft-repeated word many fans became exasperated by — of what had felt to many like a project stalling, particularly when Victor Munoz and Johan Manzambi opted for Liverpool and Aston Villa respectively, following multiple rejections last summer, too.After Alexander Isak’s bitter exit a year previously, Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and, most alarmingly, Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle’s captain and talisman, pushed to move elsewhere during the off-season. That was portrayed in some quarters as a mass exodus, one that would inevitably lead to the remainder of Newcastle’s best players departing as well — if not during the window just gone, then next summer.Among a section of the fan-base, such fears risked becoming ingrained.Hall had been linked with a move away from St James’ Park (Clive Mason/Getty Images)Hall, in particular, it was suggested would demand to leave, given he is regarded so highly and due to Manchester United’s well-publicised interest. Having just turned 22 on Tuesday, the left-back is also younger than the aforementioned quartet, and so his defection would have felt even more damaging to how Newcastle’s direction of travel is viewed among their present players, potential signings and supporters.Of course, the prospect of Hall leaving next year or beyond has not been extinguished entirely. Yet the likelihood of that eventuality coming to pass has receded substantially now the England international has signed a new five-year contract.