· 9 July 2025, 19:30
**It was being widely reported yesterday that Leeds United's £12 million bid for Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff was likely to be accepted, and the deal would be completed swiftly.**
Keith Downie expressed on YouTube that he believed the deal would be an easy one to get done and didn't foresee any big problems.
Now, though, [The Times are reporting](https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/noni-madueke-arsenal-open-talks-with-chelsea-over-signing-winger-m78gcqbv6) that Newcastle have rejected the £10 million plus £2 million in bonuses offer and are asking for more for the 27-year-old.
It's a risky move by Newcastle as it's thought that Leeds were at the top end of what they were willing to offer for the academy graduate.
Sean Longstaff's move to Leeds has hit a snag in that Newcastle want more money
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While we understand that Longstaff isn't going to see many minutes if he remains at Newcastle, we did feel that £12 million was a low figure for a 27-year-old Englishman with 171 Premier League appearances under his belt.
The Times' article notes that Eddie Howe is in no rush to sell Longstaff, saying he'd ideally like to keep him. But is there ever a player Howe doesn't want to keep? The man's got a tighter grip than The Scranton Strangler.
Hopefully, the two clubs aren't too far apart in their valuation. We'd suggest £15 million would be a fair fee for Longstaff, but whether Leeds would go that high, only they will know.
Newcastle would receive a hefty PSR boost by selling Sean Longstaff
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In terms of PSR, selling Longstaff makes a ton of sense given that he came through the academy, and therefore any money we receive for him goes straight onto the PSR bottom line. It would effectively cancel out the first year's amortisation on the Anthony Elanga deal.
On the flip side, Longstaff is the only Newcastle player over the age of 21 who counts as 'club trained', of which a club must register four for UEFA competitions in order to be allowed to register 25 players. Selling Longstaff will reduce Newcastle's squad for the Champions League to 21, but if he stayed, we'd register 22, but one would be Longstaff, so what's the big difference?
Newcastle can still call up players under 21 without being registered, and we'd argue that's just as good. Longstaff would be lucky to be given minutes in the Champions League next season anyway, so those rare opportunities could now go to a youngster with a point to prove, if Longstaff is sold.