Newcastle transfer news: Rafa Benitez wants Sean Longstaff at Everton

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Former Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez reportedly wants to be reunited with Sean Longstaff.

That’s according to Sky Sports, who claim that Everton have made an offer to sign the Toon midfielder.

Wednesday night was a confusing one for Newcastle fans, with claims of a bid for Toffees left-back Lucas Digne. Then it was claimed no bid was made. It was all very strange – such is the new territory we’ve found ourselves in this January.

While the Digne situation remains unclear, Everton’s reported interest in Longstaff is certainly interesting.

Benitez gave Longstaff his Newcastle debut in 2018, and he went on to play the best football of his career under the Spaniard. Benitez even tipped Longstaff to play for England, while he was also linked with a £50million move to Manchester United.

Rafa seemed to know how to get the best out of the academy graduate – something no other manager has been able to do.

Longstaff was briefly linked with Everton over the summer, and it is now being reported that Benitez has made a move to once again work with the 24-year-old.

Newcastle can’t let Sean Longstaff join Everton right now

The centre-midfielder hasn’t played a lot of football under Eddie Howe. But he did make his first start in our previous game – the 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

There were a lot of exceptional performances in black and white, and Longstaff was one of them. He played an important role in our only goal of the game, setting up Allan Saint-Maximin to give us the lead.

But Longstaff was everywhere that night at St James’ Park. And it was an indication that he could have a future under Howe.

And with Isaac Hayden out injured, Newcastle probably can’t afford to let Longstaff leave right now. While it has been claimed that we want a midfielder this month, our initial priorities will be landing a centre-back and a striker.

Of course, the local lad’s contract situation certainly complicates matters. His current deal is set to expire in the summer, meaning January is our final chance to ‘cash in’ as such. Alas, he won’t be worth anything near the £50million he was in 2019.

While Benitez might be keen on a Longstaff reunion, Howe can’t let it happen at this very moment in time. We do eventually need to move players on, but Longstaff is someone we need to keep a hold of – at least until a replacement is close.