Former Newcastle midfielder Lee Clark has urged his former club to tie Matty Longstaff down to a new long-term contract, as per a report from Tribal Football.
The 19-year midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season, and with him having broken through into the first team set-up, the club want to keep him on Tyneside.
Brother of fellow Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff, Matty is able to talk to European clubs about signing a pre-contract deal as things stand, with both Inter and AC Milan said to be keen.
Chronicle Live claim that Longstaff wants to remain with his boyhood club beyond the end of the season, while Steve Bruce is also keen to extend his stay.
Clark, who played over 200 times for Newcastle in two separate spells with the club (SoccerBase), has urged the Magpies to reach an agreement with the midfielder.
It’s absolutely crucial the club tie down Matty Longstaff to a new contract.
The club have been crying out for local lads who have come through from the academy, and there is now a manager in place who is prepared to play the youngsters, even above the senior players, and not wait for his hand to be forced through injuries or suspensions.
The academy is appreciative of that and the young players can see that there will be opportunities given. And the two boys, Sean as well, have come in and are two completely different types of players, but have done terrifically well in their own right.
And I think it is massive for the club to keep them on board, get them settled and make them part of the future, because good young players are hard to come by, and especially local players.
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As he’s a boyhood Newcastle fan, there are obvious reasons that the club should want to keep someone like Matty Longstaff at St James’ Park.
Clubs should treasure homegrown talents that are supporters of the club they play for, as their passion and determination to succeed with always be more organic.
More than that though, the midfielder has impressed this season, and at such a young age, it is highly likely that he’ll only get better as time goes on, despite him having already been labelled as the club’s “best player”.
Longstaff has scored twice in just seven Premier League appearances this season, the first coming in his debut appearance against Manchester United (Transfermarkt).
Newcastle will need to strengthen in the summer as they continue to grow, and with a potential takeover looming, they’ll have even more desire to invest if that goes through.
However, keeping a talented and young player at the club would save them from needing to do additional recruitment.
