Newcastle United have struggled in the centre of midfield all season and the news this week that Isaac Hayden is going to be missing through a knee injury for the rest of the season adds flames to the situation.
The January loan acquisition of Joe Willock has boosted our midfield and offers the team an option that wasn’t previously available as he looks to be comfortable between both boxes but United are still seriously short in the middle.
Quantity of midfielders is not the issue here but the quality is where we lack. Too many of the options are similar and do little to offer anything in the way of creativity.
A lot of Newcastle’s midfield problems are self made in that the wrong players are consistently picked to play.
Jonjo Shelvey is possibly the luckiest player in world football to have managed to hold down a regular spot in a starting 11. You know that you are not going to get much industry from United’s number eight but you can usually bank on some creative flair to help his side spring into attack.
Unfortunately, this is far from the case at the minute. Shelvey looks a shell of the player he was when he was unlucky to miss out on a seat on the plane to the Russia 2018 World Cup.
And then there is the regular selection of Jeff Hendrick. Since scoring on his debut in a 2-0 win over West Ham United, Hendrick’s Newcastle career has gone from bad to worse.
He doesn’t seem to have anything of merit to his game and he is perhaps the most uninspiring player to wear the black and white shirt in recent times, and there is plenty of competition for that accolade!
It was the Republic of Ireland international that was Steve Bruce’s preferred choice to come on and replace the injured Isaac Hayden at Brighton and everything we have seen from the ex-Sunderland boss suggests that it will be Hendrick coming in for the game against Spurs next Sunday.
The answer to Newcastle’s midfield woes? Drop Shelvey and Hendrick and play the Longstaff brothers.
Firstly, Matty Longstaff has been criminally underused by Bruce this season, featuring just five times in the Premier League and as of late he has not even been included in the nine man bench and has been sent to train with the under 23 side.
Matty was brought out of the cold by Bruce around the festive period and played against Southampton, Manchester City, Liverpool, Leicester and Arsenal.
Despite having very little first team football before coming in and being up against some of the best midfielders in the league, Matty never looked out of place and certainly never let the club down.
Furthermore, statistically Matty completely outshines Hendrick in spite of being given the arduous task of playing against some of the league’s best sides. He has made more tackles per game, more interceptions, less fouls and boasts a higher pass completion rate.
The energy, drive and industry are the main parts of the 20-year old’s game and those attributes are going to absolutely vital if Newcastle want to stay in the division.
Moving onto the older sibling, Sean has endured a torrid time since he broke onto the scene in the 2018/2019 season.
When he came in to the side he looked like a player who had everything but he never looked like the same player following an injury he picked up against West Ham in a 2-0 defeat at the London Stadium in March 2019.
His best performances since coming back have been in a slightly more advanced role, this was most obvious in the 4-1 win at Bournemouth towards the back end of last season.
Playing in a higher role, Sean set one up and scored another but unfortunately this was not the start of his return to form as he was later taken off injured in the same game and signs of quality have been few and far between since returning.
However, we have seen that the quality is there with Sean and a run of games would do him the world of good in helping him find his form. He also has a little less pressure as he can’t do any worse than Shelvey is at the moment.
A midfield trio of Joe Willock, Matty Longstaff and Sean Longstaff is our best bet in the attempt to stay in the Premier League.
What it lacks in experience, it makes up for in energy and determination and let’s not forget Matty and Sean are local lads who will not want a relegation with their boyhood club on their CV.