Longstaff has lots to weigh up as contract runs down
BIG DECISION AHEAD FOR TOON MIDFIELDER AS HE PONDERS ITALIAN MOVE
IT IS an odd time for football with a sense of limbo surrounding the sport.
The return of competitive games this week is the first step towards normality but the three-month hiatus has played havoc with the established calendar.
Those with deals expiring this summer are facing myriad decisions, least of all what their future holds.
Matty Longstaff is one of those players. The Newcastle United midfielder has enjoyed a breakout season under boss Steve Bruce.
His Premier League debut, during which he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Manchester United, can best be described as a fairytale.
The sight of a local lad celebrating in front of the Gallowgate is easy to admire. It is what every player in the club’s academy and everyone who grows up supporting United wants to sample but only a few get to do so.
Unfortunately, football is about more than romantic notions and nostalgia. It is for that reason Longstaff has a difficult decision to make this summer.
Udinese have offered the midfielder a five-year contract on £30,000 per-week, a sizeable jump from the £850 a week he currently earns.
Newcastle are said to have offered him a new deal but it is less than the amount he could pocket if he makes the move to the Serie A side.
Talks with the Magpies are said to have reached an impasse, with speculation mounting Longstaff will leave the club – and Udinese have outlined a development plan for the midfielder.
Aside from the potential pay rise, this puts Longstaff in an awkward position.
His association with Newcastle is long-standing and it has also allowed him to grow up surrounded by his family, including brother Sean.
Moving abroad is unlikely to hold much fear – he spent time in Sweden when dad David played ice hockey for Djurgarden, while the likes of Jadon Sancho, Ola Aina and Ademola Lookman have removed some of the unknowns associated with living abroad.
Running parallel to thoughts of a new life in Italy is the potential takeover of the club.
Longstaff would be wise to apply caution given the people he is negotiating with could be replaced at any moment.
Those new owners may view £15,000 per-week as a more than fair offer for a player who has started just six Premier League games and is not yet first-choice at St James’ Park.
That is why Longstaff’s decision is so fraught with risk. This is a vital juncture for his career.
He needs playing time and it is for that reason the clear plan offered by Udinese, as well as the pay rise, becomes difficult to resist.
In the same way the club has put business before sentiment, Longstaff may have to look after his own financial interest.
If the midfielder does decide to leave, however, it can only be considered a failure on United’s part.
The club has long claimed it wanted more academy products in the first team, and to lose Longstaff, regardless of his potential, would send a deflating message to those in the club’s academy, especially in the same week the club announced a healthy profit.
The benefit of keeping both brothers, symbols of the academy’s hard work and the talent in the region, is worth more than £15,000 a week.
As for Longstaff, a long summer awaits. The season is unlikely to be finished by the time his deal expires and that uncertainty is something no player should have to wrestle with.