With sales essential at Newcastle United to help our PSR situation heading into 2025, Sean Longstaff may be one of several reluctantly sacrificed by Eddie Howe.

The Toon manager doesn’t want to lose the homegrown talent who has enjoyed regular minutes this season, but has been handed the recent boost of a returning Lewis Miley to his squad – with a January loan ruled out for the 18-year-old. 

There may be an exodus of first team talent not considered guaranteed starters – Martin Dubravka and Miguel Almiron have been linked with moves – but Longstaff’s situation is the latest one to watch. 

Longstaff exit looks increasingly likely

The Athletic’s North-East reporter Chris Waugh has been discussing Sean Longstaff’s future this week, giving a detailed answer as to why the Geordie midfielder could be next to depart.

Asked about stories linking Longstaff with a January move away, Waugh had this to say during his latest Q&A session:

“The club have exercised a 12-month extension in his deal, which means Longstaff is now contracted until 2026, but they did that to protect his value as much as anything else, with talks of a fresh deal failing to reach a positive conclusion yet. Instead, all parties accept that, in the medium term, his future is increasingly looking like it may be away from St James’ Park.

“At 27, Longstaff wants regular first-team football and, while he is getting that at the moment, he is no longer first choice, and has seemingly dropped below Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and even Joe Willock in the pecking order.

“As Newcastle look to evolve as a team, they are likely to desire a more technically gifted midfielder than Longstaff. There is a recognition from some at the club that Lewis Miley needs to see more regular game time in the not-too-distant future, and the 18-year-old may usurp Longstaff in the selection hierarchy, too.

“Most importantly, however, Newcastle have to become better sellers and, rather than lose a star name for big money, if they start to bring in money for other squad members then it will allow them to reinvest more in a PSR world going forward. As an academy graduate, Longstaff represents ‘pure profit’, meaning Newcastle can bank all of that cash in their accounts, freeing up decent capacity to spend.

“Eddie Howe values Longstaff and would love to keep him around but, whether in January or next summer, there is at least a reasonable prospect of the midfielder departing for all of the reasons listed. Losing another homegrown player is far from ideal – Howe also recognises the value of having Geordies within his team and squad – but PSR makes this an unideal situation in general.”

The ‘pure profit’ Longstaff offers, as Elliot Anderson before him, makes it a logical route to navigate out of our PSR struggles and would give us funds to immediately strengthen our first team.

Nevertheless, it’s too early to say the midfielder has one foot out of the door – and I for one would have mixed emotions about waving goodbye to Longstaff.

The right time to go for all parties?

I’ll preface this by apologising for being a fence sitter with regards to the 27-year-old, but I would have conflicted feelings about losing another local lad.

Yes, it probably is the right time for all parties For Longstaff, he has earned a starting role at a Premier League or equivalent level club, and it is unlikely he will displace Tonali, Bruno and co. any time soon.

For the club, we can guarantee that we receive a fee before Longstaff’s contract expires in 18 months and reinvest the funds to immediately improve the first team and continue our push for European football – and with Miley filling into his shoes, it’s a no-brainer in that regard.

For me, it would be a massive shame to lose another Geordie as that part of our identity begins to dissipate. Longstaff, though perhaps not a fan favourite at times, has been a good servant for the club – but it’s a ruthless game and we must act ruthlessly (and become smarter sellers) if we are to progress.