While the Premier League season prepares to kick into high gear for the festive period, players from North America are thinking about what to do with their off-season.
Newcastle United are back in action against Manchester City this weekend after the international break, with Eddie Howe needing to get a positive result after back-to-back defeats in the league.
It’s the start of a tricky run of fixtures for Newcastle. Still, it’s something Matty Longstaff would probably love to be involved in, but his time with the Magpies is long gone.
However, the former Newcastle man is back in the area right now taking some time off from his spell with Montreal.
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Matty Longstaff back in Newcastle
Longstaff has had an interesting 2024/25 campaign, starting out with Toronto before joining Montreal in August. He’s racked up 25 appearances in the MLS and registered two assists.
The season is over now, though, and Longstaff, like a lot of players, needs something to keep his mind and body sharp during the winter months.
He’s a million miles away from the level of the Newcastle first-team squad, but he’s now very close to the club after joining up with NE Coaching Co. for some extra training.
Commenting on Longstaff’s presence, the coaching facility posted on Instagram: “Absolute pleasure to have Matty Longstaff back with us for another off-season training programme. A change of club since the last time we saw him, but the energy levels haven’t changed one bit. Welcome home, Matty. Time to put in the work.”
He’s not the first professional to link up with NE Coaching Co. Jonjo Shelvey has previously attended the programme, and now Longstaff will be looking to take his game to the next level via the extra attention.
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Newcastle takeover killed Matty Longstaff’s career
After developing through the Newcastle academy, Longstaff went on to make 20 appearances for the first-team before injury got in the way.
Longstaff slowly slipped down the pecking order on Tyneside after a bright start, and loan spells at Aberdeen and Colchester didn’t help matters. It was with the latter that the midfielder suffered a severe knee injury that really stalled his career.
From a debut, match-winning goal against Manchester United to being released in the summer of 2023, Longstaff lived the dream and then lost it. But, he admitted he always knew it was going to happen, especially when Newcastle were taken over by PIF.
Speaking after the fact, Longstaff told The Athletic: “As a fan, I was buzzing [about the takeover]. You just have to look at where they are now and where they can go, that made me so happy. But I wasn’t stupid, I was thinking, ‘That’s me done at Newcastle, I need to move on’.”
Interestingly, Newcastle United allowed Longstaff the use of their facilities while he recovered from his injury back then and insisted he would always be welcome there. We wonder if Longstaff will end up training with Eddie Howe’s team this winter once he’s done with the NE Coaching Co.
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