Sean Longstaff is keen to know where he features in Eddie Howe’s plans before committing his future to Newcastle United, according to The Chronicle.
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The academy graduate, who is said to be on comparatively low wages, is thought to have been offered a new four-year-deal at St James’ Park.
Out of contract in the summer, talks over a new deal reportedly broke down some time ago when the player’s agents pushed him for him to become one of the club’s better paid stars following an impressive breakthrough.
Once linked with a £50m move to Manchester United, Longstaff’s progress then stalled but the club are now attempting to keep him.
Still, Longstaff’s decision is supposedly unlikely to come down to solely money. According to the report, the midfielder wants to know how often he’s likely to feature next season, with Jonjo Shelvey and Bruno Guimaraes largely playing alongside either Joe Willock or Joelinton in Newcastle’s first-choice midfield at the moment.
Has Longstaff improved under Eddie Howe?
While many will point to the fact Newcastle spent almost £100m in January, one of the most rewarding things about Howe’s quick-fire rebuild of the team he inherited has been the improvement he has yielded from the players who were already at the club when he arrived.
Although it’d be fair to say Fabian Schar, Joelinton and Ryan Fraser are the obvious examples of this, Longstaff has shown signs too. Indeed, the 24-year-old himself is even quoted as saying (via Miles Starforth on Twitter) “Under this manager, I feel I’ve improved so much in training with him. Maybe in the last couple of years that learning and development bit was missing a little. That was disappointing for me.”
What has Eddie Howe said about Longstaff?
Speaking in March, the Newcastle head coach revealed he wanted Longstaff to stay.
“I love Sean, but I maybe haven’t displayed that with my team selections. That’s only because it is a really strong area of the team, Bruno is not playing either,” he told The Chronicle.
“I really do rate him highly and I am desperate for him to get an opportunity and show everyone on a consistent basis what he can do because he’s a top player. I would love him to stay and there is no part of me that wants to see him leave and I believe he has a long-term future here.”
