Many Newcastle fans have responded on Twitter to the news that there is a concern over the future of youngster Matty Longstaff.
The 19-year-old has burst onto the scene this season by scoring three times in 11 senior appearances for the club, however, United could well be set to miss out on having him for much longer as his contract expires in the summer.
The Chronicle report that the 19-year-old has had a lot of interest from across the continent and is currently free to speak to teams from abroad.
Talk previously coming from the club suggested that a new deal for Sean Longstaff’s younger brother was likely to happen, but there is still no breakthrough between the player, his representatives and Lee Charnley.
Would you blame Matty Longstaff if he left the club?
Absolutely not, I wouldn't blame him
Yes, he is a Newcastle fan and it is all set up for him here
Indifferent
Bruce said (via The Chronicle): “It’s a concern for us all, of course it is. I hope we can get that tied up, I really do.
“But, they’ve got the power these days, the players. We see it often now with young players as well.
“I hope there’s a bit of common sense. There’s nobody, at 19, who’s played more games than him. He’s got an opportunity. If he’s fit, he plays [against Oxford].”
Given that the youngster is a Newcastle fan, came through the academy, is just 19 years old and has his older brother as a fellow first-teamer at the club, it’s hard to see how the club could fail in getting him to sign a new deal.
Lots of fans weren’t particularly happy about these reports, as you can read below…
well if the club showed some ambition, maybe matty would…
— robert walker (@robwnufc) February 3, 2020
it’s strange that with the club claiming they want more local talent. They’ve only had MONTHS to sort this out.
— Davey Brown (@DaveyBrownArt) February 3, 2020
Get yourself away matty lad this club is going nowhere If you can’t get in ahead of bentaleb then something is clearly wrong #nufc
— PAUL (@nufcneverdies) February 3, 2020
Should’ve been done months ago , when he broke into 1st team , only charnley to blame once again
— Benbob10 (@ben_bob10) February 3, 2020
All Mike Ashley is thinking how much I can get for him.
— Alan McFadden (@McFaddenAlan83) February 3, 2020
he’s better than Sean and it think he’s a good up and coming player
— oooooooooooo (@owenshannon181) February 3, 2020
They cannot be that concerned otherwise they would have offered what he wants.
— Al Melts Ring (@AlMelts) February 3, 2020
With Newcastle looking more and more likely that they will be a Premier League side next year, the club really needs to sort out this contract situation, as the repercussions of him not signing could be massive.
It’s really important for not only the team but also the academy that Longstaff is backed by the board and given a chance. In recent years there have been very few academy players come through at the club, so now they have won, they need to use him as motivation for hundreds of other youth players at the club.