Newcastle United head coach Steve Bruce is expected to hand starting berths to both Longstaff brothers in the centre of midfield against Manchester Untied on Sunday, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper claims that the Magpies boss is ready to hand the younger Longstaff, Matty, a first Premier League start of the season against the Red Devils.
Isaac Hayden is suspended after being sent off against Leicester City last weekend, and Bruce has seemingly taken the opportunity to go with youth.
Meanwhile, Ciaran Clark is also set to start for the first time in the league this term in place of stalwart Paul Dummett.
OPINION
This is a gutsy call from Bruce. Clearly he is scrabbling around for inspiration, which is no surprise given how bad the Magpies have been so far this campaign. However, is an inexperienced 19-year-old the right choice for a game against the Red Devils? Obviously this isn’t the United of old, but it’s still going to be an intimidating Premier League debut for the younger Longstaff. Having said that, if he’s anything like his older brother then he should thrive on the opportunity. As for Bruce planning to drop Dummett for Clark, that simply seems bizarre. The Welsh international hasn’t been the problem for Newcastle this season, far from it. He is one of the most committed and hard-working players in Bruce’s squad, yet he’s seemingly going to be the one axed after the Leicester disaster. And to replace him with Clark rather than Federico Fernandez seems like a strange decision given that the Argentine has appeared to be ahead of the Irishman in the pecking order this term.
