Leeds want Sean Longstaff as £10m Newcastle exit development emerges
Leeds United have joined the race to sign Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff.
Whites’ boss Daniel Farke is keen to bolster his squad after securing promotion to the Premier League for next season.
The Elland Road outfit are expected to be active in the transfer window as they look to bridge the gap between the divisions and avoid a similar fate to the newly-promoted teams this season, who are all set to come straight back down.
Farke keen on Longstaff as £10m valuation emerges
Leeds need to add top-quality into Farke’s squad as it is increasingly harder for promoted sides to stay in the top-flight in recent years.
A report from the print edition of The Sun (1 May, page 45) claims that the Whites are set to rival Everton for the 27-year-old, who is valued at £10million.
It states that Farke is seeking established top division stars to help his attempt to keep the Yorkshire outfit in the division and Longstaff fits the bill as he has made 170 appearances in the competition.
Longstaff deal makes sense for Leeds
The English midfielder has made 31 appearances for the Magpies this season, although that consists of just eight starts in the top tier.
Despite Eddie Howe’s reluctance to play him regularly in the league, he would bring valuable experience to the Whites’ engine room in their survival bid, which will be a tough ask without significant reinforcements.
| Stats (Premier League) | Longstaff |
| Played | 24 |
| Started | 8 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Minutes played | 785 |
The Elland Road club have talented options in midfield, with the likes of Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev and Ao Tanaka impressing in the Championship this season, but none of those have significant top-level exposure like Longstaff would bring.
Farke’s priority should be to bring in experienced top-flight stars, given the step up in quality between the competitions and bringing the Geordie to Yorkshire would be a great start to business ahead of a busy summer.
There were claims that the German could be sacked despite achieving promotion, however, it seems like he will be given the chance to build on his legacy with the 49ers set to back him to rebuild the squad in the market.