Tony Pulis has been mightily impressed by what he saw of Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff in the win over Burnley on Tuesday.
Longstaff scored his first Premier League goal for the Magpies in the 2-0 victory over the Magpies at Turf Moor, and Pulis branded his performance as “first class” whilst also praising how the 21-year-old controlled the midfield alongside teammate Isaac Hayden.
He added that the young star has the potential to establish himself as a great player in the top flight if he has Rafa Benitez guiding him along the way.
“I thought he did exceptionally well. Him and Hayden controlled that midfield. First class. In front of the three centre-halves, those two dropped in between them and really made them nice and solid,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live on Tuesday night, as transcribed by the Newcastle Chronicle.
“I think the most important thing is to keep his feet on the ground and make sure he understands it is not about 12 games, it is about playing 200, 300 games.
“To do that, you have to be really dedicated and keep your performance levels up. Not only keep the levels up but improve on them as well. Young players get so much, so early, whether it is praise or money or whatever it is.
“The attitude of the lad and with a manager like Rafa – and Rafa is a really decent fella – I am sure he will keep his feet on the ground and make the kid realise he has a long way to go to establish himself at a top club in one of the top leagues in the world. There is a long way to go but he has got the potential to do it.”
OPINION
It must be time for everyone to form an orderly queue when it comes to praising the efforts of Longstaff every week. There is not a week that has gone by lately where the youngster has not been on the receiving end of gushing praise, and it looks like Pulis is the latest admirer of his talent. This is no surprise though, as Longstaff has really come into his own lately. Yes, he was good when he was thrown into the mix against Chelsea a couple of months ago, but since then, he has grown in confidence and ability level. He is a much better player than he was back then, and that is down to Benitez placing his trust in him, even when he had some of his usual first teamers available. The fact that he left the likes of Mo Diame and Jonjo Shelvey on the bench in favour of Longstaff shows just how far he has come.
