Matty Longstaff and big-name teammate backed to leave Newcastle United as deal agreed – expert
Dwight Gayle and Matty Longstaff will follow Jeff Hendrick and Ciaran Clark out of Newcastle United this summer.
That’s according to former Aston Villa and Scotland boss Alex McLeish, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Magpies’ transfer plans.
On 6 July, Lee Ryder reported Longstaff, Gayle, Clark and Hendrick have all been told to train with the Under 21s as they do not feature in Eddie Howe’s plans.
However, as revealed by this site (12 July) Sheffield United are close to signing Clark while it was confirmed by the Magpies on the same day that Hendrick has joined Reading on loan.
It has been suggested Howe needs to see players leave before his side can sign attacking reinforcements.
McLeish expects all of the players Howe has relegated to the Under 21s to leave for the good of their careers.
“You have to get the right numbers for your squad,” McLeish told Football Insider correspondent Ben Wild
“It’s always a hard decision when you have to let players go who you like or have been a good part of the club.
“You have to make these decisions. Ciaran hasn’t featured as much in the last year or so. I watched him when he was at Aston Villa, he was a good young kid.
“He has been a good servant but it wasn’t a real surprise when I heard those names that Eddie is discarding.
“The money these days is frightening, players are millionaires and you don’t even need to play for a top club.
“Guys like Jeff Hendrick, he’s a proud guy.
“You would hope he would want to get out and play, you would hope they will all leave for their own careers.”
In other news, Newcastle United have been backed to beat Everton in the race for Armando Broja after what an expert has seen in person.