What happened to former Newcastle player Matty Longstaff

GiveMeSport

·26 December 2023

What happened to former Newcastle player Matty Longstaff

Highlights

Matty Longstaff's career took a different path than expected after his impressive debut for Newcastle United against Manchester United.
He was sent out on loan to gain more playing time and had mixed success at Aberdeen and Mansfield Town.
Despite interest from top clubs, Longstaff chose to stay at Newcastle but was ultimately released this past summer and is currently without a club aged 23.

There was a time when it looked like Matty Longstaff was destined to become a top-level midfielder in the Premier League for Newcastle United. He burst onto the scene with an impressive showing against Manchester United and looked certain to follow in his older brother Sean's footsteps, becoming a fully-fledged member of the Magpies' first team.

Things didn't quite pan out like many expected, though. His career has taken a very different path to that of his brother and the younger Longstaff sibling is no longer on the Newcastle payroll. The last few years have been eventful for the midfielder and he's currently a free agent, having been without a club since he was released by the Magpies in the summer.

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What happened to Longstaff, though? How has his career played out so far? Let's take a closer look.

After his brother had emerged in the first team one season earlier, Longstaff made his first team debut during the 2019/20 season and got off to a very strong start. After initially making his debut in the Carabao Cup against Leicester City in August 2019, he played his first game in the Premier League against Manchester United in October of that year.

He made an immediate impression too, scoring a cracking strike to beat the Red Devils 1-0. The goal went on to win the Premier League's Goal of the Month award, and it had fans excited about the prospect of the youngster becoming a consistent figure in the team's side similar to his brother. The goal introduced him to the world and it was a surreal experience, he told Sport Bible.

“Out of nowhere, you suddenly become this hot thing and everyone's talking about you, making offers or seeing whether you’re interested. “It was a weird one, really. I went from playing U23's football to having clubs from all around the world trying to sign me."

Later that season, he scored his second Newcastle goal, against the Red Devils again in their reverse Premier League fixture. That was his last league goal for the Magpies, though, and his opportunities in the first team soon took a hit and decreased significantly.

Longstaff was sent out on numerous loans afterwards

He had a successful spell at Mansfield

After his time in the first team took a hit, Longstaff was sent out on loan in order to find regular playing time and the necessary minutes to develop his game. He'd played just five times in the 2020/21 season, so he joined Aberdeen in Scotland on a temporary basis during the first half of the 2021/22 season.

It wasn't a successful loan, though, with the midfielder featuring just five times for the Scottish club, and he failed to really make an impact on the team. He was sent back to Newcastle after several months but didn't stick around at St. James' Park for long, heading out on loan again, this time to Mansfield Town shortly afterwards.

He had a much better time with the Stags, featuring in a fairly significant role as the Nottinghamshire side made it to the League Two playoff finals at Wembley Stadium. Unfortunately, they failed to win promotion to League One, but Longstaff had a very strong few months with the club. He played 16 times in the league and scored six goals for the club, departing as a real fan favourite.

The decision to drop down to League Two looked like it had paid off, and his next loan was back to the division, this time to Colchester United. Unfortunately, it wasn't anywhere near as fruitful as his previous spell, and he played just seven times for the club before a serious injury cut his time with the team short. Following his ACL injury in December 2022, he hasn't played a game since.

He's now a free agent after Newcastle released him in the summer

The Magpies are continuing to treat his injury

While his brother Sean has solidified himself as a regular fixture of the Magpies' first-team, things haven't worked out that way for Matty and after his loans failed to really help him take the next step and prepare him for Premier League football, Newcastle made the difficult decision to release him from his contract this past summer.

He's currently a free agent, with his injury preventing anyone from going in for the midfielder. While he's on the sidelines with his injury, the Magpies have made the classy decision to treat him and allow him to rehab at the club's training ground. It's a nice gesture and one that shows just how much he meant to the club.

Things could have been very different

Longstaff initially had interest from top sides like Inter Milan

After his goal against United on his Premier League debut, Longstaff's name quickly made its way onto the radar of numerous sides throughout Europe and powerhouses like Inter Milan were suddenly interested in his services. With his contract expiring in 2020, Inter, Udinese and French side Marseille were all ready to offer him a deal and bring him to their sides.

Things could have played out very differently if he'd decided to leave Newcastle at the time and head over to one of those clubs. He might have seen playing time at the top level easier to come by, but he instead decided to remain at St. James' Park and signed a new deal with his boyhood club. In his interview with Sport Bible, he revealed his thought process.

"I was in the middle of negotiating contracts. My heart was at Newcastle, though. “After what I'd just done, there was no way I wanted to leave but Udinese made an offer. We spoke to them but with the pandemic and everything going on, it was a strange time. “I spoke to other teams but when your heart is with a club, and you're still so young, I just didn't see beyond Newcastle. You think it's going stay like that.”

That decision proved to be his undoing, though, and within a couple of years, Longstaff was released from the club and he currently remains unemployed. Time will tell what's in store for him once he recovers from his injury.

The midfielder has taken his setbacks in his stride, though, and is determined to make it back to the Premier League one day, he admitted to Sport Bible.

“You go from being at the top to the bottom. I guess me and Sean have both experienced that. When Sean first came through at Newcastle, he was flying. He was being talked about everywhere and then suddenly he was at the bottom and that was similar to me. “I came through, did really well and then I was sent out on loan before ending up down at the bottom. It's football. It's just one of those things. You have your highs and lows. “When I was breaking through, I was at the top and at the minute, I'm probably at the bottom with the injury and things but I guess when you're there, there's only one place you can go. I'm really motivated to get back. I want to be a top player.”

Fingers crossed he makes it back to the top once he's able to get back onto the pitch. At 23 years old, there's still plenty of time for him to turn things around.