If, as reported, Matty Longstaff plays for Newcastle in the Carabao Cup against Leicester tonight, he and Sean will become the latest brothers to have played for the club.
Although when most fans think of brothers who have represented the Toon, they will instantly recall Shola and Sammy Ameobi, but there are actually more that have achieved the same feat than you may think.
Some were higher profile and more successful than others, however, and some are likely to have been forgotten by some supporters.
The first to play for the Magpies, were Chilean pair Eduardo and Jorge ‘George’ Robledo, who signed in 1949. They became the first pair of international players to start in an FA Cup Final lineup in 1952, which Newcastle won.
Ron and Chris Guthrie were born 10 years apart, and while Ron’s Toon career began in 1963, his younger brother Chris signed in 1971. Ron went on to cross the Tyne-Wear divide, and represented Sunderland in their 1973 FA Cup win, while Chris only managed three appearances in black and white.
Alan Kennedy is fondly remembered by older Newcastle fans, making 158 appearances for the Geordies. But he joins this list of brothers, as his sibling, Keith, made a single left-back appearance, before becoming a Bury legend, where he played a whopping 405 games.
Peter Withe is another Newcastle legend to those who are of the generation that watched his combative displays. He scored 25 goals in 78 appearances, but his brother Chris – who came through the ranks as an apprentice at St James’ Park – made just two first team appearances.
Lomana and Kazenga Lua Lua both played on the hallowed turf, although it was not confirmed what the relationship was between the two for a long time, with there being some suggestions that they were cousins, or uncle and nephew.
Lomana – who eventually confirmed they were siblings – is the most noteable of the two, while Kazenga made more of a name for himself at Brighton, as well as other clubs.
Shola and Sammy Ameobi both played for Newcastle, and became the first brothers to play in the same side since the Robledos. Shola is, of course, now back at the club in a loan arranger role, while Sammy is still playing, and is currently at Nottingham Forest.
The last brothers to play for the Toon, before the Longstaffs, are Luuk and Siem de Jong. Neither were a particular success, and while Luuk’s loan spell was something of a disaster, Siem was struck by injury problems, but had he stayed fit, he always seemed a player who could have had a decent career on Tyneside.
Some brothers did not both make an appearance in the first team
Although those mentioned were brothers who both played in the senior side, there were a couple of others, where only one of those actually made senior appearances.
The Caldwells, Steven and Gary, both were on the books at Newcastle, although both made bigger names for themselves away from Tyneside. Steven went to Sunderland after his release from Newcastle, while Gary had a successful spell at Hibernian, while never actually making it onto the St James’ Park pitch at first team level.
Twins Jamie and Steven McClen will almost certainly have been overlooked by most fans. Jamie made some first team appearances, while Steven only appeared at youth level.
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