Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff.placeholder image
Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff. | Getty Images
Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff has returned to Darsley Park this week amid serious transfer interest from Leeds United.
Leeds submitted a £12million bid for Longstaff earlier this week which has been rejected by Newcastle.
According to The Athletic, personal terms are already in place with Leeds and Longstaff but the move remains subject to a fee being agreed with Newcastle. Sources close to Leeds have suggested Newcastle are looking for a fee closer to £15million while Leeds’ rejected bid was £10million plus £2million in add-ons.
Longstaff is into the final year of his contract at Newcastle and would be free to leave for nothing next summer. As an academy graduate, any sale of Longstaff would be calculated as pure profit in PSR terms.
Longstaff first arrived at Newcastle’s academy in 2006 and has gone on to make 214 first team appearances, scoring 16 goals. Among his goals was a strike in front of the Gallowgate End in the famous 4-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
The 27-year-old was also part of the squad that ended Newcastle’s 70-year domestic trophy drought and lifted the Carabao Cup at Wembley Stadium in March. Although Longstaff didn’t get on the pitch against Liverpool in the final, he did score the crucial penalty in the shootout win at Nottingham Forest to see The Magpies progress to the third round.
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Sean Longstaff returns to Newcastle United
Despite the intense transfer speculation surrounding him this week, Longstaff has been back at Darsley Park working on his fitness.
He was part of the returning group of players on Monday and has been out on the grass this week with his Newcastle teammates.
Although Longstaff hasn’t been the focus of Newcastle’s return to training photos and videos, the midfielder himself took to Instagram to post some individual photos of himself back in training.
The 27-year-old posted an image of himself running on the grass as well as him jumping in the gym as part of the pre-season tests with strength and conditioning coach, Nick Grantham.
Sean Longstaff back in Newcastle United trainingplaceholder image
Sean Longstaff back in Newcastle United training | Instagram
The big question is whether Longstaff will still be at the club by the time they play their first pre-season friendly at Celtic on July 19 (3pm kick-off).
Newcastle United open to Sean Longstaff exit
Although Newcastle have stood firm on their valuation of Longstaff, they are open to letting the player leave this summer, especially as the alternative would be to risk losing him for nothing next summer.
Eddie Howe said last season that Longstaff’s future at Newcastle was uncertain and the club wouldn’t stand in the player’s way should he decide to leave.
Longstaff hasn’t started a Premier League game since his contract extension was triggered around the turn of the year.
And the midfielder has spoken openly about a potential exit from his boyhood club.
Speaking last November, Longstaff said about his future: “If it’s here it’s great. If it’s not, it’s not.
“I want to be valued as a player, I want to be appreciated as a player and whether it’s here great. If it’s not here and it’s somewhere else, it’ll be somewhere else.
“In a way I live day to day, game to game and I just try and take in every game. I get to go to work every day and spend it with my best friends, I don’t know what’s coming ahead, I don’t know what’s coming down the line, I just try to embrace every day and enjoy every minute because ultimately it won’t last forever.”
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