He also risks turning fan opinion against him by rejecting an excellent contract offer of 20,000 pounds a week, as per Luke Edwards’ piece in The Telegraph, because Serie A side Udinese have waved 30,000 pounds in front of him. The 20-year-old would also be due an incredible two million pounds signing on fee.
Matty Longstaff is one of the best young players in the squad, alongside his brother Sean, and that has led to an incredible fan clamour to get the deal done as fast as possible but this latest offer shows that Newcastle United are trying their best.
Risky Business
The longer this drags out, and the more we learn about the club’s efforts to keep hold of the midfielder, the more Longstaff risks ruining his reputation with the fanbase.
With just six Premier League starts under his belt, there’s a lot of nuance in this issue but it would be a crying shame if they lost him to Udinese or another outfit. The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder has reported that French and Turkish sides are also interest.
Late Bloomer
Longstaff hasn’t even been involved in the English age-group squads, and although that isn’t a concrete indicator of any long term success for youth players, it’s a good indicator of his ability right now. With just two England U20 caps and none of the U21 sides, this isn’t even a man who is among the best midfielders in his age group.
30,000 pounds is a lot of money for a player like that. 20,000 pounds is a lot of money for a player like that.
It’s clear that his agent is a driving force behind this, which is the agent’s job, but it doesn’t make it any more savoury. Longstaff has clearly been offered to clubs around the world and it’s becoming clear that the highest bigger will win the day.
Twist
Before the Manchester United game, that was basically his breakthrough match, Newcastle had a new deal on the table and it was about to be signed. His performance that day changed this, and here we are now.
Newcastle need to make sure they’ve done everything they can to keep Longstaff, but Longstaff needs to play fair as well or he risks leaving with Geordie boos ringing in his ears and a reputation tarnished.