Newcastle Utd News

Player’s desire might go a long way in contract negotiations – opinion

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Matty Longstaff is allegedly ‘desperate’ to stay at Newcastle United next season – and if that’s true, then there should be no problems in getting this deal done.

It’s been a situation that’s needed sorting ever since he scored that goal at Old Trafford, but contract talks are still deadlocked, according to reports from the Chronicle.

In a Q&A with Mark Douglas, the editor stated that Longstaff’s representatives want a competitive base salary, however, the club seems to prefer a structured deal which will be more focussed on appearance-based incentives, as per his source.

He goes onto stay that Longstaff “desperately” wants to stay and that the club need to be careful with clubs from both Germany and Italy taking an interest. This is even more problematic considering he is free to speak to foreign clubs to sort a pre-contract agreement, so if they don’t act soon, they could be left with egg on their face if a foreign club can convince him to play there.

Douglas says he rates it ‘better than 50/50’, but both parties are playing ‘hardball’.

It goes without saying that the club should have sorted this out earlier and should probably be less stubborn to try and get this deal over the line. Obviously the player is a Toon fan, an academy graduate, and his older brother is part of the first-team – so it’s all set up for him here.

Would £25k-p/w be too much for Longstaff?

Yes

No

No

On the other hand, United should in no way take this for granted, as he is a top player with a very bright future. If the reports are true, it does pose the question of why won’t they make a stronger effort to satisfy his demands.

Fans absolutely love seeing a youngster come through at the club, so you can only imagine the uproar if he was to leave.

All in all, the main positive to take from this is that he does want to stay at the club rather than make a move abroad. If the player wants to be there, and the club wants to have him, then surely something must get agreed. If not, then the club will be missing out on potentially a top player and also someone who could make them millions in the future, so he’s not worth losing over differences in wages.

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