Newcastle United receive third bid for 'underrated' midfielder as summer exit looks increasingly likely - David Ornstein
Things got a bit busy for Newcastle United in the transfer market on Monday night, with one player on his way into the club and another seemingly on his way out.
Newcastle's bid for Anthony Elanga was accepted on Monday, and that move is now pressing ahead, but while the news was breaking around that, David Ornstein was also writing about a potential player exit from St James' Park.
Sean Longstaff has been a target for Leeds United all summer, and David Ornstein has now reported in The Athletic that Leeds have lodged three bids for the 27-year-old this summer.
The latest bid, believed to be around £10 million plus a further £2 million in add-ons, is said to be close to Leeds' limit and a rejection from Newcastle could cause the Premier League new boys to walk away.
Leeds United are pushing to sign Sean Longstaff
Ornstein said on X last night that Longstaff would rather the club cashed in on him than him walking away for free next year.
"🚨 EXCL: Leeds pushing to sign Sean Longstaff from Newcastle. Third offer £10m + £2m yet to receive reply but close to limit before #LUFC pursue other targets. Personal terms in place - 27yo wants #NUFC to earn rather go for free next summer"
Longstaff signed a one-year contract extension at Newcastle for that very reason, but even with a year on his contract, £12 million seems low for an English, Premier League-proven 27-year-old who was labelled as 'underrated' by Harvey Barnes.
Longstaff's exit could cause issues with Champions League squad registration
That being said, with Longstaff having come through the academy, that is £12 million pure profit in terms of PSR, so it will be a welcome addition to the bottom line.
And let's be honest, Longy is hardly going to be the first choice for Eddie Howe next season, so we might as well get something for him.
Our only concern is that he is our only club-trained player over the age of 21, of which we need to register four to be eligible to name a 25-man squad for the Champions League; otherwise, we lose four squad places and have to fill those with youth players.
Having said that, would it make much of a difference registering Sean Longstaff over calling up a player from the academy?
