Sean Longstaff looks as though he’s closing in on a long-awaited move to Leeds United, leaving his hometown team Newcastle United.
Sean Longstaff graduated through the youth ranks at Newcastle United, making his Premier League debut in 2016 and going on to make more than 200 total appearances for his boyhood club since.
Out of contract in 2026, it’s now being widely reported that Leeds United are close to signing Longstaff from Newcastle in a £12million deal, with Daniel Farke finally about to sign a player he’s wanted for well over 12 months.
The 27-year-old looks set to become Leeds‘ fifth signing of the summer. On Tuesday, Leeds United announced the signing of Gabriel Gudmundsson who’s joined on a permanent deal from French club Lille.
Here we look at the winners and losers from Longstaff’s move to Elland Road…
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe looks on during a game against Chelsea.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
The winners as Leeds United close in on Sean Longstaff
Daniel Farke
The obvious winner in all of this is Farke. Even going back to the summer of 2024, reports claimed that Leeds wanted to sign Longstaff in the event of promotion, though of course Leeds went on to lose the Championship play-off final to Southampton.
Longstaff then had loose links to Leeds back in January and again going into this summer, where Farke has finally been able to get his man, and in what feels like a relatively bargain deal at £12million, given how much Premier League experience and quality he has.
Ao Tanaka
Leeds United’s £3.4million signing from Fortuna Dusseldorf shone last season. But going into this summer, Ao Tanaka looked to be lacking midfield partners after Joe Rothwell secured a move to Rangers following his Leeds loan spell, and so Longstaff arriving gives the Japanese international a solid partner in the middle.
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And with Longstaff more of a holding midfielder, it might allow Tanaka to get forward more often and showcase that brilliant attacking ability that we saw last season.
Eddie Howe and Newcastle United
Newcastle United fans are sad to see Longstaff leave this summer. There’s a sense that he’s been somewhat unfairly treated by manager Eddie Howe who hasn’t favoured him so much, starting the Englishman on just eight occasions last season.
And out of contract in 2026, selling Longstaff now, and for a fee of £12million, seems like it’ll work out very well for Magpies hero Howe and the club itself, but also for Longstaff too.
Ilia Gruev during Leeds' win v Preston.
Photo by Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images
Only one loser as Leeds United close in on Sean Longstaff
Ilia Gruev
Longstaff arriving at Leeds United has a lot of upside and very little downside, it seems. But Bulgarian midfielder Ilia Gruev may not be so excited about the move, and Longstaff will undoubtedly move straight in above Gruev in the pecking order.
Gruev put in some mixed performances last season and there’s since been speculation about where Gruev’s future might lie, with more midfield signings expected this summer, which will only push Gruev further down the pecking order given the quality of players that will be arriving.