Last season, Sean Longstaff broke into the Newcastle United first-team. This time it should be his younger brother Matty.
The pair have been heavily involved in pre-season, and Sean is obviously going to be a key player going forward. Considering Manchester United wanted him so desperately, it would be odd if Steve Bruce didn’t play him.
The older Longstaff brother has already proven he is Premier League quality, but Matty has shown glimpses in pre-season that he can also play a role.
If Bruce is going to play with three centre-midfielders, he’ll need a variety of options. As it stands, our best trio is Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff.
Then behind them you’ve got Ki Sung-Yueng, Jack Colback and Henri Saivet. Ki is a tidy player who likely won’t be a starter, while it’s shocking to know that Colback might get a chance this season. As for Saivet, he doesn’t seem to have returned yet after his AFCON exploits.
Those are our six senior centre-midfielders, but Matty Longstaff should be the seventh. To be honest, he should be ahead of Colback and Saivet in the pecking order.
Despite being just 19, he already looks confident when playing senior football. During pre-season, you wouldn’t know that Matty Longstaff has never played a competitive first-team game for the club.
Like his brother, he looks mature beyond his years. Matty has shown a willingness to get on the ball, make things happen, while also completing his defensive duties. And his strike against St Etienne was top class.
Hopefully at some point this season we can see Sean and Matty playing alongside each other in the Premier League.
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