Waddle - ‘hard to turn down bid for Sean’

NEWCASTLE United legend Chris Waddle has praised the attitude of the Longstaff brothers but admits he wouldn’t be surprised if the club ‘considered’ accepting a bid for the older one if it hit the £50m mark.

The summer saw Sean linked constantly with a move to Manchester United – ironically the team that the brothers excelled against last week, and Waddle fears if the Red Devils came back with the reported bid of £50m, it might be accepted.

“Sean Longstaff has been linked to Manchester United for £50m and I’m sure Newcastle will be thinking he has only played one full season and that’s a huge fee.

“It’s the second year when you are judged and he has not hit the ground running this term because of injury, so I would not be surprised if Newcastle considered an offer of that size.”

Newcastle have repeatedly stated that Sean is not for sale – with a new contract potentially on the horizon – and with the performance of both Sean and Matty against Man United, the hope will be that stance remains.

It was arguably Sean’s best performance of the season as he works his way back to full fitness following the injury suffered in February which saw him miss the end of the last campaign.

But it was his brother who scored the only goal of the game – on his Premier League debut.

“It would have been an amazing feeling for Matty Longstaff to score against United at the Gallowgate End on his debut.

“It’s the kind of thing you dream about and it happened. It’s all about keeping his feet on the floor now and hopefully there’ll be more great performances to come.

“He and his brother Sean have got the attitude and desire. They are very grounded and could have great futures.”