Everton’s interest in Newcastle United’s Sean Longstaff has ‘cooled’ since Rafa Benitez was replaced by Frank Lampard at the Premier League outfit, as reported by The Athletic.
When Longstaff was being labelled the second coming of Michael Carrick, and linked with an eye-watering £50 million move to Manchester United, few would have imagined that very same player would be on the verge of leaving St James’ Park for absolutely nothing just three years later.
The North Shields-born academy graduate will be a free-agent in July.
And, if he is playing for his future at St James’ Park, it’s fair to say Longstaff cannot afford many more anonymous performances like the one in Sunday’s 5-0 shellacking at the hands of Manchester City.
Particularly when you consider that nouveau-riche Newcastle will spend big in the summer, the arrival of the wonderful Bruno Guimaraes in January already pushing Longstaff further down Eddie Howe’s pecking order.
Is Sean Longstaff leaving Newcastle United?
The 24-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Everton a few months ago. The Toffees reportedly submitted a £1 million bid in January, one that was dismissed out of hand by Newcastle (Daily Mail).
Rafa Benitez was still in the Goodison Park dugout at the time. It is no coincidence it was he who handed Longstaff his breakthrough on Tyneside a couple of years ago.
“I’ve heard the Michael Carrick comparison and I can see that,” Benitez once said of Longstaff.
“Carrick, later on, became a holding-midfielder. But, at this stage, Sean has more mobility and plenty of stamina. He can cover a lot of ground.
“But certainly (like Carrick) he has the technique and can use both feet well. He is also a quiet type and is not someone who loses his head.”
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The Athletic adds that, since Benitez’s drawn out departure, Everton’s interest in Longstaff as ‘cooled’ somewhat.
It is understood that Lampard torpedoed the midfielder’s potential arrival during the winter window, instead opting to bring in Donny Van de Beek from Manchester United and Dele Alli from Tottenham Hotspur.
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