Chris Sutton heaped praise on Newcastle United midfielder Matty Longstaff for his performance in the 1-0 win over Manchester United.
The outspoken pundit stated that the 19-year-old’s display against Man United was phenomenal and that it was good not just because of his energy levels but because he showed real quality.
Sutton also claimed that Longstaff should have been in Steve Bruce’s side earlier this season based on what he has been hearing.
“Yeah brilliant finish, he hit the bar in the first half didn’t he?” said Sutton on BBC Radio 5 Live (20:28, Monday, October 7th).
“And from what I’ve been hearing, he should have been in the team earlier on this season.
“It was a phenomenal display, you know, youthful energy and actually more than energy, real quality!
“Nah it was really good to see.”
OPINION
Every pundit seems to enjoy talking about Longstaff’s Premier League debut against Man United, and who can blame them? The 19-year-old was thrown in the deep end on Sunday and instead of drowning, he ended up running rings around his high-profile opposition. Longstaff aside from taking his chance beautifully to score the game’s winning goal, was a constant attacking threat for the Magpies. The teenager made one key pass and even was painfully accurate with his attempts to put the Magpies on the attack, as five of his seven long ball attempts found their target (Source: WhoScored). It’s also worth noting that Longstaff was the player who ended with the highest rating for his performance on WhoScored on Sunday, and it was nothing less than he deserves. As for Sutton’s claim, it’s easy to believe he has heard people stating Longstaff should have been in the team earlier. After all, based on his performance, that seems like an obvious thing to say, and you feel people wouldn’t have been vocal with that opinion if he had failed to wow against Manchester United.
