Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United are circling back to a familiar target with Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff linked as per reports by Chronicle Live. The 27-year-old midfielder, once deemed too pricey at £50 million in 2019, now emerges as a budget-friendly fix for United’s midfield overhaul but this time, the stakes are different.
In 2019, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hesitated at Newcastle’s £50 million demand for Longstaff, then a 21-year-old with just nine Premier League appearances. Fast-forward five years, Longstaff, now a Champions League veteran with 35 league starts last season, faces a career crossroads. Eddie Howe’s midfield including Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelington, and teen prodigy Lewis Miley has squeezed him to the bench with just eight league starts this season. With one year left on his contract, Newcastle’s “pure profit” PSR incentive makes him attainable for United.
Longstaff’s 2023/24 season saw him getting six goals and two assists, hinting at untapped potential, but Amorim’s interest isn’t nostalgia but rationality. United’s midfield with Christian Eriksen’s exit and Casemiro’s likely sale demands cost-effective reinforcements. Rumoured targets like Xavi Simons or Kenan Yildiz strain the summer budget, but Longstaff’s fee which is projected under £20m, fits INEOS’ cost-cutting measures.
Everton’s rival bid complicates matters. The Toffees can promise starters’ minutes for Longstaff, who admitted: “As I near my peak years, it’s vital I play regularly.” Yet leaving Newcastle pains him: “I’d leave with a heavy heart… but achieving things with Newcastle—Champions League, cup finals—was beyond my dreams.”
Longstaff’s past United links haunted him. “You see your face on newspapers, people talking life-changing moves… I got caught up,” he reflected. “Now? I’d handle it differently.” The failed move spared him missing Newcastle’s takeover and captaincy—“I’m happy it didn’t happen.”
For United, Longstaff isn’t a marquee signing but a low-risk, high-reward gamble. Homegrown status aids squad quotas, while his excellent work rate complements Kobbie Mainoo’s flair. But with Everton lurking, Amorim must convince Longstaff that bench warming at Old Trafford trumps starring at Goodison.
Newcastle’s PSR pressures and Longstaff’s contract clock make this summer the last chance for a profit. For United, it’s a shot at redemption with once a £50m “overpriced” tag now a bargain hunt. The question isn’t just cost, but whether Longstaff’s heart can leave Tyneside and move to Manchester.