Date published: Tuesday 2nd June 2020 8:45
Newcastle midfielder Matty Longstaff has been offered a lucrative contract by Serie A side Udinese, according to reports.
The talented 20-year-old, who has been earning just £850 per week on an academy contract at Newcastle, could leave St James’ Park after the Italian outfit offered him a five-year deal.
According to Sky Sports, Longstaff turned down a long-term contract offer from a Newcastle earlier this season, thought to be in the region of £15,000 per week, and his hometown club have not returned with the revised offer he had hoped for.
Udinese’s offer is said to be around double the amount of salary offered by Steve Bruce’s men, along with a bumper signing-on fee.
Longstaff, who burst on to the scene last October when he scored the winner against Manchester United on his Premier League debut, flew out to Italy for talks before the coronavirus pandemic forced both the UK and Italy into lockdown.
The report adds that the homegrown talent is still desperate to stay at his boyhood club, but that the offer from the Serie A side has left him with a decision to make.
Udinese would have to pay Newcastle just £400,000 in compensation for Longstaff, due to his age, if a deal was struck.
Reports elsewhere also suggested that Inter Milan and Marseille were in talks with Longstaff, but it was only Udinese who spoke to the player and his family, and made a concrete offer.
Elder brother Sean has just 18 months left of his Newcastle contract and is also attracting admiring glances too, having been wanted by Manchester United in the past.
Meanwhile, Philippe Coutinho’s agent has confirmed the Brazilian is keen on a return to the Premier League at some point in his career – giving hope to a number of his suitors.
Coutinho has spent this season on loan at Bayern Munich after struggling to settle in at Barcelona, but the German club have confirmed they will not be purchasing him outright.
That decision has led Coutinho to set his sights towards the Premier League once more, where he previously enjoyed a successful spell with Liverpool.
A number of Premier League clubs have been linked with the Brazilian, with Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham all strongly linked – and Arsenal also emerging as major contenders to sign him with Mikel Arteta said to be a huge fan. Read more…
