Matty’s ready to kick on after a Long contract saga
YOUNG MIDFIELDER HAS CHANCE HE WANTED TO MAKE HIS MARK AT TOON
MATTY Longstaff’s new contract at Newcastle United gives the Magpies ample time to show they are as committed as they say they are to giving one of their own a real chance to shine in the first team at St James’ Park.
A few days before Longstaff had scored for the second time at senior level for United, the club’s backroom team had drawn up a new contract offer for the midfielder worth around £5,000 per week.
At that stage, Newcastle were confident the Academy product would sign it.
However, in the world of opportunity which is the Premier League, Longstaff’s welltaken goal against the
Red Devils was followed promptly by a celebration which indicated he had the ability to stay cool as he headed towards the Stretford End.
In performing the “ice in my veins” celebration borrowed from NBA star D’Angelo Russell, the moment proved he could step up to the big stage and deliver.
It also showed Longstaff junior is a cool customer – something which has been vital as his contract ticked down to expiry this summer.
Those around him have told the youngster to hold out for the best deal he could at Newcastle – but they were not simply talking about wages.
Like his older brother Sean – who is himself the younger son of former Great Britain ice hockey star David – Longstaff has made huge strides in a short space of time.
It seems like yesterday the family travelled to Doncaster for a Checkatrade Trophy clash to witness a 3-1 win as the brothers starred together at the Keepmoat Stadium.
After Matty Longstaff clipped a sumptuous pass through for Tom Allan to cap the victory against a strong Doncaster side, it was obvious they were both standing out.
One Yorkshire reporter said it all, uttering: “How are those two brothers playing in the bloody Checkatrade?” It still took Sean Longstaff a few months to get his Premier League debut but a dream run in the team, curtailed by an injury at West Ham, showed the North Shields lad Newcastle had once came close to releasing for nothing was top-flight quality.
The 2018/19 season was all about the second string for Matty, though, but word was getting around on his contract situation.
Former Magpies forwad Duncan Ferguson spent the Premier League Cup final at Goodison Park watching the flame-haired midfielder inadvertently take part in a live audition on the hallowed turf at Everton.
High player ratings from The Chronicle’s second-string coverage
It is the end of a long saga at Newcastle but the right result for Geordie fans - not least the former Gallowgate End regular himself
prompted debate and banter at the club’s academy but it was clear he wasn’t going to play at reserveteam level for much longer.
He looked as comfortable as a defensive midfielder as he did at number 10 or even right-back.
Then he proved he was as good as the hype with as crisp a strike as you are ever likely to see against Manchester United which even took Alan Shearer’s breath away.
So why did the contract negotiations take two years? A wrangle with his former agents did not help but Longstaff was particularly keen that a proper game-plan was put in place to ensure he could develop as a player in the 2020/21 season, whether that had been at Newcastle or elsewhere.
To say he is in it for just the money is well off the mark.
The 20-year-old who still helps load and unload boxes of kit at games for ice hockey side Whitley Warriors to help out his dad. He’s not acting like a big shot.
Given Longstaff had barely been used in the Premier League in the second half of the season, the game-time argument was a real concern for the youngster.
It looked for a while like Longstaff would make the move to Serie A and play in the black-and-white stripes of Udinese but as the season came to a close there was also strong interest from newly promoted Leeds United, Brighton and Southampton.
A free-transfer move to any of the trio of top-flight clubs would have prompted criticism for the Magpies and had he signed for northern rivals Leeds and been lauded by the faithful as the next David Batty it would have been a disaster for Newcastle.
Yet, rather than bicker over wage demands of contract length, United allowed Steve Bruce to effectively take the lead on the talks, just as he had done successfully with Freddie Woodman a week or so earlier – two massive contract victories for the United head coach.
It is those face-to-face talks with Bruce which have probably saved this deal, regardless of the head coach’s detractors out there.
Whatever the critics say about Bruce, he can command the attention of a room and has the respect of the dressing room.
What happened next in the negotiations says a lot about Longstaff’s ambitions, though. He pushed for a two-year contract rather than the five-year deal drawn up by football secretary Richie Hines.
If it had been about making cash he could have easily sat on a deal for half a decade and been a rich man by the end of it.
Instead, he has the chance to show he is for real about his ambitions to one day captain the club and run the midfield week in, week out.
Longstaff knows he must work his socks off to prove he can cut it at Newcastle.
Within two years we will all know whether his determination and desire have been fully rewarded. The midfielder will have the opportunity to see if that results in a run in the team or result in another term of waiting.
If he does do well, the big clubs tracking him know they can make their move again within a year.
Longstaff has a financial deal he is happy with and one that makes him feel as valued as some of his first-team counterparts.
Bruce’s experiences at Manchester United as skipper will serve him well when it comes to blooding younger players at the right time.
He lived through a period at Old Trafford that saw future England stars David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers work their way to the top.
It is over a year now since Bruce blocked a loan move to League Two club Bradford for the youngster and told him he would be part of his plans.
Longstaff responded with a wonder goal on his debut against St Etienne in a pre-season friendly.
With the deal done, Longstaff knows it is time to kick on and the promises of first-team rewards are part of an agreement.
It is the end of a long saga at Newcastle but the right result for Geordie fans – not least the former Gallowgate End regular himself.