Sean Longstaff looks set to start his first Premier League match for Leeds United against boyhood club Newcastle United this evening in what might provoke a mixture of emotions for the midfielder.
The 27-year-old swapped St James’ Park for Elland Road this summer after securing a £12million switch, ending his lifelong association with the Magpies. He faces up against his old team in his new home with both sets of fans in different moods.
While Newcastle supporters clapped their 10-man team off the pitch following Monday's gusty 3-2 showing against Liverpool, Leeds were jeered off by some of their fans in Tuesday’s League Cup loss at Sheffield Wednesday, whose average team age was 21.
Longstaff earned his first competitive start for Leeds on the night but was one of many players to underwhelm. He ended up missing the decisive penalty in a 3-0 shoot-out defeat.
“I think it's fair to say that you could feel in the first weeks that he didn't come with full confidence and full rhythm due to the fact that he has not played that much in the last season,” Leeds boss Daniel Farke said ahead of tonight’s match.
“So due to the competition that he had in his position, he's still a bit on the way to find his rhythm. I think we have not seen the best Sean Longstaff so far. He had some really good games in pre-season, but also some games when he was perhaps not at the top.
“This is normal for a player who doesn't come with full confidence and full rhythm - that, so far, he didn't have this consistency in his performances. But this will come in time.”
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Farke has been keen to not only acquire talent but also the right characters too this summer. Longstaff is known within the game to attain a brilliant attitude and was a popular teammate at Newcastle. It seems the same will apply at Leeds.
“He's an intelligent young man,” said Farke. “He's a top, top character. We are pretty pleased to have him, a great teammate. It's a joy to work with him, really, each and every day. So we are all pretty happy to have him.
“I'm sure [today] will be an emotional day also for Sean due to his last 20 years, but he's wearing a Leeds United shirt and fully committed, and so fully integrated. I think he loves it here to be a part of our group.
“For that, I have no doubt that he's highly motivated and will also be very professional in order to put his past a bit to the side and just focus on digging in and trying to grind out a result for us on this game day.”
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