Tony Cascarino has stated that Newcastle’s decision to offer Matty Longstaff a ‘two-year’ contract is ‘strange’, as he told talkSPORT (22/08/20 at 9:50 am).
The former Republic of Ireland striker compared that decision to when Arsenal handed a three-and-a-half-year contract to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when he first joined the club in 2018 [Stantard], as he thought that was the ‘maddest deal’.
There was speculation that Longstaff could be headed elsewhere given his contract situation at St James’ Park, but the 20-year-old only added two-years to his current deal [Sky Sports] despite his age and him having a breakthrough campaign.
From Cascarino’s perspective, that indicates that he will still leave the club at some point because he questioned how much they actually value their academy star.
On how much of an important signing Longstaff is: “I don’t know if I am honest,” Cascarino told talkSPORT. “I tell you why. The fact that he has been given a two-year deal is a bit short for a young lad.
“And it doesn’t tell me that the club are convinced of keeping him in the long-term. It smells more to me like, ‘we will get him on a contract and we might sell him in six months or a years time’ – I’m not quite convinced.
“I find it a strange deal. If you’re an aspiring young player that’s at a club who are really desperate to get you tied down to a contract over the long-term, they are not going to give you a two-year deal.
“It was one of my criticisms of Arsenal when they gave Aubameyang a three-and-a-half-year deal at the age of 28. You had paid £60 million for a player. I thought it was the maddest deal ever. You’re paying £60 million and you are giving him a three-and-a-half-year deal. It was like ‘wow, you have to be signing him on a five-year deal’.”
Newcastle United’s opening fixtures of 2020/21
- West Ham (A)
September 12
- Brighton (H)
September 19
- Tottenham (A)
September 26
- Burnley (H)
October 3
- Manchester United (H)
October 17
- Wolves (A)
October 24
It does raise doubts as to why Longstaff wasn’t handed a five-year contract because it then begs the question, ‘how much do Newcastle value and rate Longstaff?’
The answer is seemingly not much, as an interesting 12 months awaits the midfielder, who will now be expected to establish himself in the first-team.
If he can take his game to the next level then it would bode well for his future and in him becoming a high-quality Premier League footballer.
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