The £50 million transfer fee being demanded by Newcastle United for midfielder Sean Longstaff makes no sense, according to Shaka Hislop.
The 21-year-old is understood to be a target for Manchester United this summer, but the Magpies are demanding top dollar for their brightest prospect, as reported by the Telegraph.
But former Toon stopper Hislop is bemused by the valuation.
Speaking on ESPN, he said: “I don’t know why the price for Sean Longstaff is set at the £50m mark.
“Apparently it is because of the Wan-Bissaka deal who is of a similar age and that is where it looks like Newcastle are setting their sights.
“The difference for me though is the fact that Wan-Bissaka played 35 games for Crystal Palace last season and we know exactly how good he is.”
OPINION
You have to agree with Hislop in this one. Longstaff is a very good prospect, and he has the potential o be a very, very good player, as shown by his 80.9% pass completion rate and the fact that he was only dispossessed 0.8 times per match last season [Whoscored]. But £50 million is a ludicrous amount for a player with 12 senior appearances. From a Newcastle perspective, you can understand why they don’t want to sell, so this valuation is great news, but from Manchester United’s point of view, that amount of money is far, far too much. That being said, the Reds are desperate to make signings, so who’s to say that they won’t still push ahead with deal, despite the ridiculous figure been quoted to them? For once, Mike Ashley’s stubborn negotiation stance could prove to be a real asset for the Toon Army the summer window.
