OPINION
The worry for a club like Newcastle United is that they can’t keep the nice things that they have.
Whenever a player begins to play out of his skin, there is obviously a certain amount of excitement that comes with that, but ordinarily, it is tempered with the realisation that it could also mean he is will be ushered out the door for a handsome fee in the near future.
After all, this is Mike Ashley’s club, like it or not, and the controversial businessman is always going to have his head turned by a tidy profit.
Which is why many supporters will have been on tenterhooks ever since the emergence of breakout local lad Sean Longstaff.
According to Sky Sports, Manchester United have shown interest in the young midfielder, and that will surely have been a concern.
So it will no doubt come as something of a relief to hear that the Reds may have cooled their jets when it comes to swooping for the 22-year-old.
A report from ESPN suggests that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has an eight man wish list for the January transfer window, and Longstaff’s name is nowhere to be seen.
Moreover, West Ham’s Declan Rice is explicitly mentioned, and it’s hard to see United making a move for both.
As such, you would like to think that the Magpies can rest easy, and it may also help Longstaff to get himself back on track too.
By no means has he been poor this season, but his Whoscored rating of 6.52 is hardly incredible, and a lack of distracting gossip can only be a good thing for the starlet.
