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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Sean Longstaff is in line for a new contract at Newcastle United worth up to £80,000-a-week, according to The Times.

What’s the story?

The report claims both Sean and his younger brother Matty are in talks over new deals.

Sean of course impressed massively last season, breaking into the first-team and earning a contract worth £25,000-a-week, but his new deal could be worth more than triple that.

The report says the Magpies valued Longstaff at £50m amidst interest from Manchester United this summer, and the renewed terms are a reflection of that.

Best move they could make

It’s about time Newcastle started acting like a big club. There’s still a long way to go, but the Magpies have smashed their transfer record twice already this calendar year.

With the window now closed, moving to tie Longstaff down to a bigger, longer contract is exactly what the club should be doing, and European champions Liverpool have proved exactly why.

Jurgen Klopp has long insisted keeping key players is just as important as signing new ones, and the German confirmed as much again this summer as the Reds had a quiet window, but tied down several players to new deals.

“In our case it was [that] these are our transfers. These new contracts, keeping these boys here, was a strong, strong signal for the outside world. It’s a wonderful sign, to be honest,” he said.

Now, we will have to wait and see if Newcastle do actually intend to keep Longstaff long-term or if this is simply a ploy to push his market value up, but the signs are definitely positive, and it does send a message that the club will not be bullied by Manchester United or any other elite club.

Keeping the local lad, who even had Pep Guardiola singing his praises last season, is as important as any signing the Magpies could possibly make, just as Klopp says about his European conquerors.

For all the unrest on Tyneside at the moment, this is just about the best move the club could make to inject some positivity back into the fans and squad.

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