Matty Longstaff’s future at Newcastle United has been an ongoing saga throughout the season, but the latest reports seem to be a bit more conclusive.
And if you’re a supporter who wants to see the youngster continue his career in the North East, the news coming out does not look particularly pretty.
What does look particularly pretty, from Longstaff’s perspective at least, is the queue of teams lining up for his signature, as per TEAMtalk reports.
It is suggested that, with the player’s contract expiring at the end of the season, he is seriously contemplating leaving at the end of the season.
The report claims that Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Club Brugge, Inter Milan, Atalanta from abroad all want him, and from within England, Arsenal, Everton and West Ham are all said to have shown interest.
So bearing in mind that the player could have any of those clubs in the following season, you can understand why he might be demanding a certain wage from the Magpies and why he may also want to leave.
Will Longstaff be at St. James' Park next season?
Yes
No
It is stated that both he and his older brother Sean have been in talks with the club for some time about signing a new contract, yet an agreement with neither player can be arranged.
For Matty, he has made 12 first-team appearances and has scored three goals, and has shown a lot of promise in his early time.
Subsequently, reports have suggested that he wants a contract to reflect his semi-regular game time at the club – a deal which has a decent weekly rate rather than an incentive-based contract. £25,000-per-week is said to be enough for his signature.
United and Mike Ashley have no one else to blame but themselves if he ends up departing for £400k or so from a compensation fee. The club have had so long to sort this deal out, and in reality, should have got it done way before clubs from abroad are allowed to approach him in January. Once you do that, you’ve allowed the idea of joining a huge European side get well within his head – so you can hardly blame him for wanting more from Newcastle to ignore those offers.
Obviously, he is a Newcastle academy prospect and has an older brother at the club, so it will be quite a loss if they cannot keep him at the club.