Paul Merson simply said unbelievable when asked for his opinion on Newcastle United midfielder Matty Longstaff’s display in the 1-o win over Manchester United.
The Sky Sports pundit was asked by Sky presenter Adam Smith during the broadcaster’s ‘The Debate’ show to sum up the 19-year-old’s Premier League debut for the Magpies.
“Particularly Matty Longstaff, what a story this is guys (Jamie O’Hara and Merson), you both played in the Premier League, sort of sum up what he will be feeling, Gallowgate End, Newcastle fan, making his Premier League debut and scoring the winning goal against Manchester United, that is the stuff what dreams are made of,” said Smith (22:14, Monday, October 7th, on Sky Sports Premier League).
Merson replied with one-word, “unbelievable”, before O’Hara explained Longstaff’s debut was what dreams are made of.
OPINION
Longstaff scored the winning goal against Manchester United after Jetro Willems noticed the 19-year-old on the edge of the box in space in the 72nd minute of Sunday’s match and the rest is history. It’s no surprise that the Magpies teenager seems to be all pundits are talking about after the memorable win over Man United, as these sort of feel-good stories don’t seem to happen often in the Premier League as it’s hard for a youngster to break into the senior side of a team playing in the top-flight. However, Longstaff has kicked open the door to the first-team in some style as after impressing on his Premier League debut, how can Steve Bruce even consider dropping him? The 19-year-old did everything his Magpies manager possibly could have asked of him on Sunday after all based on his stats. Not only did Longstaff score, his other effort during the game hit the crossbar, but he also made four-headed clearances and won 50% of his duels during the match to help his side out defensively (Source: Premier League). So while Merson may have found Longstaff’s Premier League debut unbelievable, maybe the pundit is going to have to get used to being wowed by the 19-year-old this season.
