Newcastle boss Eddie Howe makes startling Sean Longstaff admission after £15m Leeds United transfer
Leeds United signed the Newcastle United academy graduate in a £15million deal this week.
Eddie Howe admits he ‘never wanted to lose’ Sean Longstaff less than 24 hours after the midfielder’s £15million move to Leeds United was confirmed.
Longstaff signed a four-year deal at Elland Road on Friday after Leeds proved successful with their fourth bid, which saw Newcastle bank £12m upfront plus £3m of potential add-ons. The 27-year-old wasted little time getting to know his new teammates and got 45 minutes under his belt during Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Manchester United in Stockholm.
At around the same time, Longstaff’s former club Newcastle endured a nightmare afternoon as they fell to a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Celtic. Leeds target Nick Pope was among those to struggle, allowing a simple ball to bounce over his head as Johnny Kenny ran on to tap into an empty net for his side’s third.
Longstaff’s homegrown status at Newcastle presents another issue for St James’ Park chiefs, who need to name at least four club-trained players in their Champions League squad in order to have the maximum 25-man list. He was their only such senior player before leaving for Leeds and speaking after Saturday’s 4-0 thumping, Howe was startlingly open regarding his desire to keep the midfielder.
“Sean was someone I never wanted to lose from the squad,” Howe told The Chronicle. “But as we know, and I have said many times, finances, PSR, long-term planning mean that sometimes these decisions have to be taken. Sean is a big miss from our squad. Sean was very, very popular in the dressing room, very popular on the pitch.
“He did a great job and tactically understood everything that we needed him to do. Days like Celtic, when you are putting two XIs out, you really see his absence highlighted. He goes with our best wishes and he’s been an incredible servant to Newcastle. But we have to move on now without him.”
What has Sean Longstaff on Leeds United transfer?
Longstaff enjoyed a far more positive Saturday than his former club, with a quick-fire debut coming in Stockholm as Leeds impressed against Manchester United. The experienced midfielder kept things understandably simple, given he is unlikely to have trained with his new teammates at all, but looked at home in the blue and yellow of his new club.
Having started just eight Premier League games last season, Longstaff will no doubt have moved to West Yorkshire in the hope of enjoying more regular football. And speaking after his signing was announced the summer signing admits he felt wanted from the start by Leeds.
“I think there is something to be said for a team that wants you and a club that really wants you,” he told LUTV. “I think from the first time I spoke to Leeds, I sort of got a feeling that they really wanted me. It just fills you full of confidence and it just makes you want to repay those people.
“It is a massive, massive football club similar to Newcastle in a lot of ways. It was going to take a lot for us to leave Newcastle to be honest and I wasn’t just going to leave to go anywhere so it had to be the right place for me and my family and I think this is a perfect place.”