After a long transfer pursuit, Leeds United are close to landing one of their top targets. The Premier League club have agreed a deal with Newcastle United to sign Sean Longstaff.
The Whites have been linked with the 27-year-old all summer and have now had a bid worth £12m including add-ons for the midfielder accepted. A report in The Athletic last night claimed it was United's third proposal for Longstaff and personal terms are already in place.
Longstaff’s previous contract was due to expire this summer only for the Magpies to activate a clause to extend his deal until 2026 to prevent losing him for free. Money received for Longstaff can also be banked as pure profit and help Newcastle remain within the confines of the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules.
Longstaff has been on Newcastle's books since the age of eight. He progressed through the ranks and has gone on to play 214 times for his boyhood club, scoring 16 goals. He played a major role for Newcastle in the 2022/23 season as they secured a fourth-placed finish.
But the energetic midfielder has struggled to hold down a regular starting spot at St James' Park. Central midfield is arguably the strongest department of the Magpies squad.
Sources in the North East say Newcastle will not stand in Longstaff's way if he chooses to go and the big attraction of the move to Elland Road will be that he is guaranteed game time. Head coach Eddie Howe was prepared to give Longstaff an opportunity to fight for his place on Tyneside this season but with the Magpies about to complete the £55m signing of Anthony Elanga, the fact that this deal represents pure profit would benefit them from a PSR perspective.
When quizzed on Longstaff's future earlier this year, Howe said: “Sean brings unique skills to the team. I mean his tactical understanding and his delivery of what we've asked him to do historically has been at the very highest level. He's got an important goal in him.
“Sean has a contract for next year, so the control is very much in his hands in terms of what he wants to do with his long-term future, and we're certainly delighted to have him within our players.”
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