Club should give Matty a new contract, says Shola
SHOLA Ameobi insists that Newcastle United should hand Matty Longstaff a new contract.
The 20-year-old midfielder is out of contract next month and there is at least one Serie A side waiting in the wings to bag the player for a bargain £400,000.
The powers-that-be have postponed talks with Longstaff during the lockdown but the player had not heard anything from the boardroom just before the season was suspended.
Despite scoring two excellent goals against Man United home and away, Longstaff’s contributions became less and less as the contract wrangle continued.
Yet Ameobi has revealed that staff want to see the current regime do the right thing and give him a new deal.
The club’s loan manager Ameobi, speaking to Sky Sports, said: “All the staff here want Matty to sign a contract.
“The likes of Matty are a product of Newcastle – it should be one of the top priorities should the new owners come in.
“We have to keep the players that we have.
“He should be a top priority.
“We need to lock him down for the future.”
United also halted contract talks with his older brother Sean Longstaff last year, although he does have two years left of his current deal.
Sean had attracted interest from Man United, with Red Devils legend Michael Carrick believed to have urged the club to sign him.
21ST AUGUST 1996
Alan Shearer christened his Newcastle United home debut with an excellent free-kick back in 1996. With the clock running down and United leading Wimbledon thanks to an early David Batty goal, Shearer stepped up to take a free-kick from 25 yards.
Renowned for his penalty-taking rather than his prowess from range, Shearer curled a beautifully-weighted strike right into the top corner. It was the perfect start to his Newcastle career.
VS MANCHESTER UNITED – 23RD
NOVEMBER 2002
Shearer’s 100th Premier League goal for Newcastle came at Old Trafford in 2002. Fabien Barthez stood no chance as Shearer was laid off at a free-kick just on the edge of the area. The No. 9 unleashed a rocket into the top right-hand corner.
Newcastle were trailing 3-1 at the time, with Shearer’s strike giving the Magpies a foothold in the game once again. It was to be short-lived though, as Ruud van Nistelrooy restored the hosts’ advantage just two minutes later. Nevertheless, it remains one of Shearer’s best strikes in a Newcastle shirt.