Sean Longstaff, one of Newcastle United's own
Sean Longstaff has signed for Leeds United after helping Newcastle United, his boyhood club, make history.
Sean Longstaff’s life changed last summer.
Longstaff became a dad after his partner gave birth to a baby boy called Brady before a ball was kicked last season.
The midfielder reflected on the change a year ago after playing in the intense heat and humidity of a Tokyo summer while on tour with Newcastle United.
“He just gives me a chance to completely switch off from football, which I think I really like,” said Longstaff. “It's a life-changing summer and I couldn't be happier.”
Then came a life-changing season for Longstaff and his team-mates as they ended the club’s 70-year wait for a domestic trophy by winning the Carabao Cup in March.
Every one of Eddie Howe’s players wrote their names into the club’s history books on that unforgettable day at Wembley.
Longstaff, of course, had scored the decisive penalty in a second-round shootout victory over Nottingham Forest after a 1-1 draw at the City Ground early in the season.
Leeds United transfer
Longstaff’s sleep patterns might have settled down now he’s a year into fatherhood, but the transfer window can be an unsettling time for players.
And Longstaff’s life will change again this summer after his long association with Newcastle, his boyhood club, came to an end.
Leeds United, his new club, have bought well. The newly-promoted club has signed a player who has played a lot of Premier League football since being promoted to the first-team squad by Rafa Benitez in the summer of 2018.
Longstaff, 27, made 214 senior competitive appearances, and scored 16 goals, during his seven-year first-team career at the club.
But the statistics only tell half of the story.
Longstaff’s story at the club has had downs as well as ups. Months after his first-team breakthrough, he suffered a knee injury playing against a West Ham United side featuring Declan Rice, who he was being compared to at the time.
By the time Longstaff recovered, Benitez was no longer the club’s manager – and he had to prove himself all over again.
He was joined in the first-team squad by younger brother Matty – the midfielder scored an unforgettable winner on his Premier League debut against Manchester United – but there were darker times ahead.
Out in the cold
Longstaff found himself out in the cold in the 2020/21 season during a long winter as the team fought to stay in the division.
"To not be involved for so long was really frustrating,” said Longstaff told the club’s programme after returning to the team. “Obviously, I have my own views on it, and whether I feel it was right or wrong, (but) it doesn’t really matter. All you can do is keep yourself ready.”
It was not until the arrival of Howe that we started to see Longstaff fully in his stride again.
Howe recognised what he had to offer, and Longstaff was often an unsung hero in the team, quietly making a difference with and without the ball. He covered an awful lot of ground, and enabled others to flourish around him.
Howe, according to Longstaff, “saved” his Newcastle career.
There were also big goals on big occasions, not least his two memorable strikes in the 2023 Carabao Cup semi-final, second-leg win over Southampton, and his goal in the club’s stunning 4-1 Champions League demolition of Paris Saint-Germain at St James’ Park.
More recently, a video was shared on social media of Longstaff, a pace bowler, demolishing a wicket playing cricket for Tynemouth this summer. Longstaff’s cricketing talent was not lost on Leeds when they teased the announcement of his signing.
The days of top-level footballers playing cricket in the summer had seemingly gone, so it was refreshing to see Longstaff donning his whites in the competitive North East Premier League.
Longstaff, now preparing to wear Leeds’ white shirt, is a throwback in that sense, but the powerful player, comfortable with the pace and intensity of Premier League football, is also ideal for the modern game. Off the pitch, he has stayed humble.
But, at his age, he wants to play week in, week out, and he will get that opportunity at Leeds.
Sometimes, homegrown players need to leave to play and progress their careers, just look at the impact Elliot Anderson has had at Nottingham Forest.
“Thank you for everything, @NUFC,” said Longstaff on X.
The move will also help Newcastle, working within domestic and European financial fair play rules, compete in the transfer market this summer.
Back in 2018, Longstaff sung Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself in front of his team-mates during a pre-season trip to Ireland after being promoted to Benitez’s first-team squad.
Longstaff went on to become a much-loved player – and he will always be one of the club’s own.
Hard not to appreciate a player like Longstaff even if you aren't a Newcastle fan. Hope he has a great season at Leeds.