Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden has heaped praise on team mate Sean Longstaff, claiming that he is ‘almost designed to play Premier League football’.
The 21-year-old has burst onto the scene in the past couple of months and is now a sure-fire starter alongside Hayden in central midfield. The former Arsenal man, it’s safe to say, has been very impressed with the youngster.
“If you spoke to every single member of the first-team squad when he first came in during pre-season and we’ve seen him train, every single one of them would say the same thing: that they are not surprised about how he has adapted to playing Premier League football,” he told NUFCTV [6:38].
“Realistically, when you look at his characteristics as a player, he is almost designed to play Premier League football. He is well over six-foot, he can head the ball, he can run, he is a great athlete, good on the ball, can read the game, can tackle, so for me, he has got everything. If you were asking me at the start of the season whether he was good enough I would have said yes.”
OPINION
When you see Hayden lay it out like this it makes you appreciate just how well suited to life as a professional footballer Longstaff is. He looks a bit gangly at times in the centre of the park but he moves well and he gets about the pitch superbly. He’s good in the air and even better on the ground, with his passing being the highlight of his game. He’s an intelligent player, as well, we’ve seen that demonstrated since he’s come into the team. It’s clear that his team mates are impressed with him and that they trust him. He’s a young man, and he didn’t have much first team experience with Newcastle before the New Year, but he’s made the transition seamlessly and is one of the first names on the team sheet now. He has a great relationship with Hayden and you can see that here. The 23-year-old talks about the younger man with real warmth and so it’s clear that they get on well both on and off the pitch.
