United enter danger zone as time is running out to secure Longstaff’s club contract Time is running out to secure Longstaff’s club contract
NEWCASTLE United have entered dangerous territory with Matty Longstaff as the player goes into the final month of his contract.
With Mike Ashley yet to sanction a satisfactory offer and the club only just being given the green light for the Premier League restart, there is an air of uncertainty hovering above the midfielder’s head.
It means there is only a small window to get the Longstaff deal done now and United – as a club – have not protected themselves as they could potentially lose out on millions should the England Under-20 international go on to chalk up big transfer fees later in his career. As it stands, all they will pick
up is around £400,000 in compensation as he is an Academy product.
Such a scenario would also break up the developing partnership of both Matty and older brother Sean Longstaff, which has been the biggest success story at the club’s Academy in years.
The 20-year-old has at least one offer of a new deal from abroad on the table but Newcastle have not made the most of the lockdown by getting Longstaff nailed down to a contract extension.
Ashley has hit pause on any major spending until he knows the direction United are heading and he has effectively left the decision for the would-be owners.
Longstaff, like Andy Carroll had contract meetings have kicked back until late June but the midfielder’s current deal ends on June 30. Longstaff burst on to the scene at senior level last summer when firing in an absolute screamer in pre-season against St Etienne in a 2-1 win at St James’ Park. And, just to prove it was no fluke, Longstaff did it again on his full Premier League debut when grabbing the winner in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United.
Despite talk of a new deal, Newcastle have been unable to make a competitive offer for the youngster, who has been linked with Everton, Inter Milan and AC Milan in recent months.