Howe Could Bench Longstaff By Unleashing £7k-p/w Newcastle Gem In New Role

Howe Could Bench Longstaff By Unleashing £7k-p/w Newcastle Gem In New Role

This £7k-per-week gem could be Newcastle’s saving grace in midfield.

Newcastle United are in the midst of a rocky period under head coach Eddie Howe for the first time in two years, compounded by the heavy weight of expectations from the club’s recently acquired Saudi wealth.

The Magpies, while plagued with injuries in recent months, suffered their fifth defeat in six games in December alone and exited both the EFL Cup and the Champions League in the meantime.

The January transfer window cannot come sooner for the manager but with two games remaining before the winter market opens, Howe may need to make some tactical tweaks to ensure Newcastle stop the rot and one player in particular will be champing at the bit to get back into the side.

Sean Longstaff’s game in numbers
A boyhood Newcastle United fan, Sean Longstaff has been a mainstay at St. James’ Park ever since making his debut for the club under Rafa Benitez back in a 4-0 defeat away at Liverpool on Boxing Day in 2018.

The midfielder has gone on to make 158 senior appearances for the Geordie club in that timeframe across three different managers. However, Saturday’s showing away at Luton Town showcased the limitations of Longstaff’s game.

Throughout the match, Newcastle registered an xG of 1.5 from a total of 15 shots on Luton’s goal. Longstaff must be credited for his helping hand to make some of these goalscoring opportunities, having created three chances during the game and recording an expected assists tally of 0.63, although the Mags failed to find the net once.

However, the 26-year-old struggled in other elements of the game. Having had 72 touches of the ball, Longstaff played merely four passes into the final third and was even dispossessed on one occasion which led to a dangerous chance for the Hatters, as per FotMob. Additionally, he lost 100% of his tackles and 57% of his total duels while also being dribbled past twice.

After the game, Chronicle Live handed Longstaff a match rating of 5/10, which was even lower than Lewis Miley who was replaced in the 38th minute due to tactical reasons, according to Eddie Howe.

In his 158 appearances for Newcastle United, Longstaff has managed to bag ten assists in total, an average of one every 15.8 matches. It was worrying that Howe relied heavily on the Englishman to create opportunities for his attackers on Saturday.

Meanwhile, both Anthony Gordon and Miguel Almiron whipped in a combined total of six crosses at Kenilworth Road, with just one finding a Newcastle player.

Lewis Hall’s stats in midfield
The Magpies need to create more opportunities and Howe could have a glaringly obvious solution staring him in the face in the form of 19-year-old Lewis Hall.

The youngster joined on loan during the summer for an initial £28m fee but has seen very little action in a black and white shirt, whilst receiving £7k-per-week from the club. Even amid an injury crisis, Hall has featured for merely 245 minutes for Newcastle, including 81 minutes in the Premier League.

However, what makes Hall truly stand out is his versatility, having played in seven different positions since the beginning of the 2020/21 season when he was with Chelsea.

One of these roles was as a central midfielder and the teenage sensation certainly impressed, scoring seven goals and registering six assists in 18 appearances as a number ‘8’.

Nevertheless, at St. James’ Park, Hall has been solely used on the left as a full-back and a winger as Howe has yet to try Hall out as a central midfielder. The youngster could be the perfect player to unlock Newcastle’s strikers, Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson, who have scored just once between them in the side’s last six matches.

Hall has averaged an assist every three games in the middle of the park which is five times better than Longstaff’s record and should be a consideration for Howe ahead of the Magpies’ visit from Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.