Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff as being the closest of the club’s current crop of youngsters to a first team call up, according to Chronicle journalist Lee Ryder.
The 20-year-old impressed in loan spells with Kilmarnock and Blackpool over the past couple of seasons, and it is understood he could be in the first team picture before long – ahead of Under-23s goal machine Elias Sorensen.
“All of them have attributes that could be promising for the future,” he wrote in the Chronicle. “Sean Longstaff is the closest and has loan experience at Blackpool and Kilmarnock
“His younger brother Matty has great technical ability but needs experience which points to a loan. Sorensen has got the goals but is still growing and needs to check his temper with defenders now well aware of his presence on the second string circuit. There’s plenty to work with but patience is the key.”
OPINION
This is an interesting one. On the face of it, everything would suggest that Sorensen is closest to a first team spot. Newcastle have struggled for goals this season and the Dane has been absolutely prolific for the U-23’s so far this term. However, manager Rafael Benitez clearly feels that the youngster needs some more seasoning before he is ready for first team football. Longstaff, on the other hand, has shown during his loan spells that he has the ability to make an impact for the Magpies if given the chance. He was superb for Blackpool and did decently well at Kilmarnock as well. Benitez gave him his first team debut so he obviously thinks highly of the midfielder, it’s just a matter of how soon until he’s a real fixture in the first team picture. Newcastle aren’t blessed with an abundance of top quality central midfielders, so perhaps Longstaff could wind up featuring regularly sooner than some people might think.