Steve Bruce has persuaded Longstaff to stay despite serious interest from the Premier League and abroad
Thursday 20 August 2020 14:17, UK
Matty Longstaff has ended months of talks by deciding to commit his future to Newcastle United.
The 20-year-old's contract ended in the summer and, despite serious interest from the Premier League and abroad, manager Steve Bruce has persuaded him to stay on Tyneside.
Longstaff is set to sign a long-term contract by the weekend after finally deciding to stay with his boyhood club.
The midfielder, who scored the winner against Manchester United last October on his Premier League debut, travelled to Italy earlier this year for talks with Udinese.
The Serie A side offered him a lucrative £30,000-a-week contract that dwarfed the £850 he was then earning as an academy graduate at Newcastle.
Sky Sports News has been told Leeds and Brighton both approached his representatives after his contract ended in the summer, but Bruce worked hard behind the scenes to ensure Longstaff stayed at St James' Park.
Newcastle, who would only have banked £400,000 development compensation had Longstaff left, initially offered the youngster a new deal back in November but Longstaff turned down the £15,000-a-week deal on the table.
Bruce was desperate for him to stay after losing Nabil Bentaleb following the end of his loan spell. The Newcastle manager, who is on the verge of completing the signing of Republic of Ireland international midfielder Jeff Hendrick, sees Matty and his older brother Sean as the future of the club's midfield.
Bruce said in June: "We have made him a wonderful offer and for me it [this] should be the way forward in his career. We have done everything we possibly can. Of course we would all love him to stay but it is his prerogative."
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