His contract impasse has been rumbling on in the background for a while now and it’s started to rear it’s ugly head with the reports linking him with a move to Udinese.
The Times has written that Newcastle United could lose the youngster when his contract expires, and that would be the final nail in the coffin in Ashley’s rotten reign over the Magpies.
Surprise
While the proposed takeover of the St. James’ Park based outfit has dominated airwaves and conversations, the club have continued to ignore a number of serious issues surrounding the Magpies and Longstaff is one of those.
It won’t come as much surprise to the embattled Toon fans to learn that one of the best youngsters to come through the Academy in recent years is going to be allowed to walk free at the end of his deal.
Starved
Newcastle have got a poor youth set up and their fans have been starved of seeing some of their own on the field. Andy Carroll is one, but he left in his pomp and has returned far from it. Paul Dummett has done well but he’s reliable, not exciting. Longstaff, and his brother Sean, are exciting products but the Magpies are going to alienate them, their fans and everyone in the process by their lack of action.
We’ve taken an incredibly long run-up to this point and Newcastle should roll out the red carpet for Matty Longstaff, and Sean, who is also considered an important member of the Newcastle squad.
Insult
With Saudi Arabia’s takeover of Newcastle still going through, this feels like one final insult towards the fans by a dying regime who never appreciated the club for what it was and have come to view the fans with utter disscontempt.
If Longstaff is allowed to walk, no matter what he asked for in wages, it’ll be the final nail in a coffin. This should have been an open goal of a contract negotiation. Only Ashley could have messed it up so badly.