Matty Longstaff should follow in his brother’s footsteps with Liverpool debut

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On Boxing Day 2018, Sean Longstaff made his Newcastle debut as a substitute against Liverpool.

The young midfielder certainly made an impact, almost scoring to complete a perfect first appearance in black and white. He sent Virgil van Dijk for a hot dog, shifted the ball onto his right foot, only for Alisson Becker to save his effort from distance.

While he didn’t score, this was the start of things to come for Longstaff. Weeks later he became a mainstay in the Newcastle midfield, proving he had the Premier League quality all along.

Links with Manchester United came and went. He remained at St James’ Park, and is a true first-team player rather than a youngster just breaking in.

But in the shadows is another Longstaff – younger brother Matty.

The 19-year-old shone at times in pre-season, capping it off with a wonder strike against St Etienne. Matty has been involved in a few Premier League squads so far this season, making his competitive debut in the League Cup exit to Leicester.

The next step is making his Premier League debut, and where better than the same place that older brother Sean got his?

Sean will miss the game due to an ankle injury, which could hand Matty a place on the bench. And Steve Bruce should take the opportunity to give the teenager some minutes and see how he fares.

Going to Anfield is going to be an almost impossible task for Newcastle. Unless there’s a miracle, we’ll be lucky to get out of there with a 2-0 defeat.

But Bruce can use the game to give one of his most talented youngsters a real taste of senior football.

The Premier League can be a case of sink or swim at times for young players. Sean Longstaff was thrown in at the Anfield deep end and lived to tell the tale. If Matty does the same, we could have another local hero on our hands sooner than we think.