Former Newcastle United star and ex-Kilmarnock manager Lee Clark has been lauding the talents of Sean Longstaff and insisted that there is more to come from the young midfielder.
The born-and-bred Geordie has been making big waves at St James’ Park this season with his performances in the middle of the park, manager Rafael Benitez forced to turn to him in a time of crisis.
Doing much more than simply plugging the gap in the first team, Longstaff has quickly established himself as a fan favourite with his assured performances and Clark, who managed him when he was at Killie on loan, admits there is much more to his game than the fans have seen.
He told the Chronicle: “His discipline and mentality was like a player who had a lot more experience than he had and was older than he was. That has come to the fore since he got into the team at Newcastle as well.
“He’s a midfield player who can also break lines, can break beyond your striker. He’s a very good finisher for a midfield player and can get you between five and 10 goals a season.
“For all he’s doing very well, excellently, I know, and I’ve seen myself at a lower level, there’s more to come from him if asked and if needed. The potential of the lad is huge in what he can go on and do, but he’s done superb so far.”
Opinion
More to come from Longstaff? The fans might not have thought that possible. He has already shown himself to be one of the brightest talents to emerge from the youth system in the last decade and considering the sort of opposition he has come up against in the form of Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea, he has done an outstanding job to come out the other side with all the plaudits he has. Clark’s revelation suggests that he could also do a job further up the pitch, having been utilised as an attacking midfielder during his time both north of the border as well as during a loan spell at Blackpool. That is exciting for the Toon Army but for now he looks perfectly at home playing in front of the defence, dominating the likes of David and Bernado Silva. He is only going to continue thriving the more he plays and with this sort of form, he could remain in the starting XI for the foreseeable future.