Newcastle United are going to sell Sean Longstaff in 2025, six years after he was one of English football’s brightest midfielders.
Longstaff broke into the Newcastle United first-team during the 2018/19 season, with Rafa Benitez giving a young Geordie his big break in the Premier League.
He was exceptional in black and white, drawing comparisons to Declan Rice. At the time, those comparisons were not too farfetched.
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Newcastle United told Manchester United what they thought Sean Longstaff was worth
While injury brought a premature end to his debut season as a Newcastle United player, Manchester United saw enough from Longstaff to convince them that they should try to bring him to Old Trafford.
However, they quickly discovered that a deal was going to be very expensive.
ESPN reported in July 2019 that Newcastle United told Manchester United they would have to pay £50million to get Longstaff out of St James’ Park.
The report adds that the Red Devils were ‘stunned’ by Newcastle’s valuation, with Man United’s chief negotiator Matt Judge speaking to Toon managing director Lee Charnley about a possible deal.
Man United’s interest ended there and then, having valued Longstaff themselves between £18million and £20million.
Sean Longstaff’s value has plummeted but Newcastle United will not care
Six years later, Newcastle United have finally agreed to let Longstaff leave. However, he is heading to Manchester United’s rivals, Leeds.
As they prepare for their Premier League return, Leeds have agreed to sign Longstaff from Newcastle. They will pay an initial £13million, potentially rising to £15million with add-ons.
That is £35million less than what the Magpies wanted for him in 2019, but they will not care one bit. Longstaff has been incredibly valuable at St James’ Park over those six years, becoming a key part of Eddie Howe’s midfield.
But his influence has waned over the past 12 months, and now is the right time to cash in as he enters the final 12 months of his Toon contract. Selling Longstaff helps Newcastle’s PSR position, as he will go down as pure profit due to being an academy graduate.
Longstaff gets set to leave Newcastle United as a club legend, having played his part in ending the Magpies’ 70-year wait for a domestic trophy.
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