Former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips admitted that was left stunned the report that said Newcastle United midfielder Matty Longstaff has attracted interest from Udinese.
Sky Sports revealed earlier this week that the Serie A has declared an interest in the 20-year-old middle man and is only on £850-a-week at St James’ Park.
Longstaff previously rejected a new deal with us and The Telegraph reported that we came back with a further offer worth over £20,000-a-week.
This definitely came as a surprise, despite the fact that Longstaff is only playing Premier League football for the first time in his career this season, scoring just three goals in 12 appearances for the Magpies.
Phillips admitted that the news took him by surprise and stated that Udinese would be getting a bargain.
Should we keep Matty Longstaff?
Yes
No
“I was shocked,” he told Football Insider. “You would not put Udinese as one of the biggest Italian clubs.
“I was surprised but they might be able to get him for £400,000 which is nothing to get a player of his quality.
“It would be a great lifestyle move for him but at his age, he just wants to learn and play football.
“He will be thinking, that if the new owners come in and bring in a new manager, he might not be their kind of player.”
The England U20 international’s contract expires once the 2019/20 campaign draws to a close, which could be a concern.
I suppose the only way we will learn whether he is a big loss or not, is if the £300m takeover goes through. Realistically, that situation is at the top of all of our worry lists.
Fans have been pleading for him to be retained due to his boyhood connections with the city and the club, which is understandable.
It is a waiting game, and a matter of time until we hopefully receive confirmation of the deal going through. That is when a lot of our questions will be answered.