Thanks to a huge slice of luck, Sean Longstaff scored his first Newcastle goal against Blackburn.
Despite all the on and off-field issues, Longstaff has actually had a positive few weeks amidst the chaos. With injuries piling up, the youngster has been handed a chance in the first-team. And fortunately, it’s a chance he is taking.
The midfielder looks composed in possession and wants to make things happen. And against Blackburn in the FA Cup, he showed he has another element to his game.
Longstaff can bring something we’ve missed since Cabaye
Within the first minute, Newcastle had the lead at Ewood Park. That was courtesy of Longstaff, who struck from distance after the target opened up. Sure, it took a huge deflection that wrong-footed the goalkeeper, but at least the 21-year-old was willing to have a go.
This was his first goal for the club, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. On his debut against Liverpool, Longstaff had a golden chance that was saved by Alisson, while his late effort against Chelsea was deflected over.
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
But the young midfielder has shown that he is willing to take a chance from distance. Now some may argue that Mo Diame has shown this too, but most of his shots cannon off the defender and just set up a counterattack for the opposition. Longstaff looks more measured and a genuine threat from distance.
This is something we haven’t really had since Yohan Cabaye left the club. While the academy graduate certainly isn’t as delicate and precise in possession as the Frenchman, he can certainly bring goals back to our midfield.
Jonjo Shelvey has never been a consistent source of goals since arriving, so hopefully Longstaff can add to his tally between now and the end of the season. Hopefully starting against Cardiff on Saturday…