An exit for Sean Longstaff cannot be ruled out, according to The Athletic.
What’s the latest Newcastle transfer news?
A product of the club’s academy, Longstaff rose to fame under Rafa Benitez towards the end of the 2019-20 season and was even drawing early comparisons to Manchester United legend, Michael Carrick.
Indeed, there were reports of a £50m move to Old Trafford after his stunning breakthrough – something the 23-year-old has admitted rocked him – but an injury curtailed his progress and he has since struggled.
While there was an improvement towards the end of last season, Longstaff only has just over a year to run on his contract at St James’ Park and recently changed agents, now working with Pini Zahavi.
Should Newcastle sell Longstaff?
Given the lack of money on offer this summer, it might be a necessary step.
Although it’d be fair to suggest the excitement that initially surrounded the player has evaporated somewhat, the idea of watching him develop elsewhere would be gutting. As one of few academy graduates to have made a genuine impact in the first-team in recent years, it would seem a real shame if Longstaff were to act on his obvious potential at another club.
Still, as a young and English talent, perhaps he is one of the club’s few sellable assets whose exit wouldn’t be quite as gutting as the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin or Miguel Almiron.
Having been dropped from the side after the miserable loss to Sheffield United last season, it’s clear that there are other options and, while ideally he would stay, raising money to put towards a potential move for Joe Willock would make sense.