[Newcastle United](https://cominghomenewcastle.sbnation.com) midfielder Sean Longstaff is increasingly likely to depart the club this summer, according to [The Athletic’s Chris Waugh](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6366920/2025/05/20/inside-newcastle-isak-trafford-longstaff-delap/), though a final decision has yet to be made.
“Nothing has been decided with Longstaff yet,” Waugh wrote in a Q&A session, “although the direction of travel seems to be towards an exit.”
The 27-year-old has not started a Premier League match since December 7 against Brentford and now sits deep in the squad hierarchy.
Waugh revealed that Newcastle “were open to offers” for Longstaff in January, but the player opted to remain through the second half of the season in hopes of contributing to the Carabao Cup campaign. That decision paid off for him, as Longstaff did go on to lift the trophy.
While Newcastle exercised a 12-month extension clause to prevent Longstaff’s contract from expiring this summer, Waugh said that move was “primarily prompted by the desire to protect his value.”
Because Longstaff is an academy graduate, any transfer fee would be recorded as pure profit under the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, something the club would gladly take.
An eventual sale could carry complications. Longstaff is the only senior player who qualifies as “locally trained,” and Waugh cautioned that “Newcastle will be disadvantaging themselves to an extent in that regard should Longstaff leave.” The club may even need to explore re-signing former academy players in order to meet UEFA squad requirements.
“If a decent offer arrives this summer,” Waugh wrote, “then an exit feels likely, even if Newcastle will not force Longstaff out.”