Longstaff admits Newcastle stars were ‘written off’ before Howe arrived

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Newcastle United ace Sean Longstaff thanks Eddie Howe for turning his career around at St James’ Park. The midfielder admits he was among the Toon players who were ‘written off’.

The Magpies appointed Howe to the helm in November 2021 having sacked Steve Bruce in October following the Saudi-led takeover. He has transformed the Tyneside club’s fortunes since taking charge and has guided them to a first cup final since 1999 in the Carabao Cup.

Newcastle booked their place in the Wembley showpiece with a 3-1 win on aggregate over Southampton. Longstaff struck twice in the second leg to secure a 2-1 result and a place in the final. Another of Howe’s renaissance projects in Joelinton also struck in the semi-finals.

Longstaff has now scored three and assisted two goals over his 27 appearances across all competitions so far this season. The 25-year-old had only scored five and assisted five over his 95 first-team outings entering this term. Never had he scored more than two in a term.

It was only in last May that Newcastle awarded Longstaff a new, three-year contract at the club, as well. He was set to become a free agent on June 30 after failing to agree on a new deal in the past three years. Per The Athletic, he was also one of the club’s lowest earners.

Longstaff will be ‘forever grateful’ to Howe for turning his Newcastle career around

Longstaff’s fall from grace under Bruce from the highs achieved under Rafa Benitez, which saw Newcastle slap a £50m price tag on him in 2019, per The Telegraph, also saw teams in the Championship eye his free transfer a year after Everton were keen, The Athletic added.

But Longstaff is now one of Howe’s most crucial players at Newcastle. Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final was the Toon product’s 23rd start over his 27 appearances so far this term. He has also appeared in each of their fixtures and cannot thank the Magpies boss enough.

“It’s amazing, quite emotional to be honest,” Longstaff told talkSPORT. “Not just me but a lot of the boys have come a long way and were written off a little bit.

“The manager has come in and turned a lot of our careers around and a lot of us will be forever grateful to him. We work hard every day to get better and better.

“A lot of it is down to the manager and he’s getting the best out of a lot of players. We love working with him and will be forever grateful to him.”