Eddie Howe:I think my presence is no longer needed am leaving finally

Eddie Howe:I think my presence is no longer needed am leaving finally

Matty Longstaff started his Newcastle United career with so much promise after scoring on his Premier League debut against Manchester United.

Five years later, the midfielder is playing in the MLS with Toronto FC. The move came after Longstaff was released by Newcastle in 2023 after being limited to just 20 first-team appearances.

After an impressive breakthrough campaign saw him score three goals in 15 appearances, Longstaff signed a new deal at Newcastle. But he would spend almost the entire duration of his new contract away from the first team as he ran down his deal alongside loan spells at Aberdeen, Mansfield Town and Colchester United.

A serious knee injury in December 2022 while on loan at Colchester ended any slim chance Longstaff had of remaining at Newcastle.

But the 24-year-old admitted that he felt the writing was on the wall in terms of his time at Newcastle from the moment the club were taken over in October 2021.

“As a fan, I was buzzing,” Longstaff told The Athletic. “You just have to look at where they are now and where they can go, that made me so happy.

“But I wasn’t stupid, I was thinking, ‘That’s me done at Newcastle, I need to move on’.”

After his release, Longstaff was allowed to use Newcastle’s facilities to work on his injury recovery. Former sporting director Dan Ashworth even offered to help Longstaff earn his coaching badges and work within the academy. “Dan Ashworth said to me: ‘You’ve helped get this place to where it is. We’ll always remember what you’ve done and we’re going to look after you. It doesn’t matter how long it takes’,” Longstaff added.
“The manager [Eddie Howe] rang and said: ‘You’re such a positive person around the place. Keep being you, keep being positive, because it lifts the mood. Don’t feel for one minute that you don’t deserve to be here. The lads love you’.”

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