Long-term Everton interest in Newcastle United man Sean Longstaff has cooled – report
Long-term Everton interest in Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff appears to have cooled, according to The Athletic this week.
Chris Waugh has reported that since Rafa Benitez left, the Toffees have taken their foot off the pedal ahead of a potential free transfer in the upcoming summer window.
Instead, Newcastle are continuing talks before his deal expires and Longstaff is expected to remain at St James’ Park and work with Eddie Howe.
Writing in a free-agents special for The Athletic, Waugh shared the latest state of play regarding the future of Longstaff and where it will be.
“Sean Longstaff is the only player at Newcastle out of contract this summer,” he wrote. “Discussions are continuing over an extension and he is expected to stay.
“There has been long-term interest from Everton, which has cooled slightly since Rafa Benitez left Goodison Park, and clubs abroad, although Longstaff is viewed as a decent free transfer.”
Wise.
Frank Lampard knows that he will have to be smart with his transfer business over the summer.
He will also want to bring in his own type of player that he wants, rather than those that were already possibly on the shortlist when he arrived at Goodison Park.
It is clear that the midfield is an area that needs solving, with the likes of Fabian Delph, Andre Gomes and Donny Van de Beek likely to move on.
Longstaff is nothing more than a rotation player at Newcastle, and he was even that before all of the money was pumped into the Magpies, so what makes him good enough for us?
We need players to come in and make a huge difference to make sure we don’t end up in this predicament again should we remain in the Premier League – something that currently looks likely.
Time to let Lampard pick out his own targets.
In other Everton news, Martin Keown says that Everton must respond to a “tremendous body blow” in their “phenomenal” relegation war.
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