Newcastle United’s Sean Longstaff could stay around the first team.
According to The Chronicle, Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff will stay with the club this summer, as a move to Portsmouth has been abandoned due to Rafael Benitez being impressed with him.
The Magpies have had problems bringing through players from their youth setup in recent years, with even the highly-rated Adam Armstrong becoming a forgotten man at St. James’ Park.
One player to have emerged is playmaker Longstaff, who has come up through the ranks with the Magpies, but has – unsurprisingly – yet to make his competitive debut for the club.
Longstaff, 20, showed promise on loan with Kilmarnock in 2017, hitting three goals in 17 games, before heading on loan to League One side Blackpool for last season, where he notched nine goals in 45 games.
Now back with Newcastle, Longstaff has been featuring for the club in pre-season friendlies as a number 10, and he appears to have done enough to impress manager Benitez.
The Chronicle report that a proposed loan move to League One outfit Portsmouth has now been abandoned, as Benitez wants to continue to look at him as a potential first-team player over the summer.
Longstaff looks set to stay with Newcastle for the first half of the season, and this is a huge opportunity for him to challenge Ayoze Perez as the Magpies’ leading number 10.
Newcastle fans will want to see a young player emerge sooner rather than later, and Longstaff looks the most likely of the Magpies’ young talents to feature in the Premier League this season.
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