Nottingham Forest are lining up a £2 million bid to sign Sean Longstaff from Newcastle, according to The Mirror (23/01; page 72).
The midfielder was set for a transfer to Everton, although Rafa Benitez’s sacking has left him in limbo somewhat.
Longstaff has fallen down the pecking order at Newcastle and Eddie Howe is willing to let him leave the club this month.
Signing a midfielder would perhaps be a strange one. Forest have Ryan Yates, James Garner, Jack Colback, Braian Ojeda and Cafu all vying for a shirt.
Longstaff would be a decent addition though. At 24, he fits the profile of a Forest player just nicely and he has bags of potential.
The midfielder played 48 minutes of Newcastle’s game against Leeds yesterday. The Magpies won 1-0 and Longstaff was largely decent.
It seems as though Howe will sacrifice the maestro this month, however. With Newcastle now relatively wealthy, the club will go in search of new players to try and stave off the threat of relegation.
Forest would welcome Longstaff into their ranks and he could prove to be a useful investment for the future.
Future: Longstaff could do Forest job
Whilst a midfielder it’s a pressing requirement for Forest, there could be a need for another body come the summer.
Garner will return to Manchester United, Colback isn’t getting any younger, whilst Cafu may well leave the City Ground.
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That could make Longstaff pretty useful. The player has 86 appearances to his name for his boyhood team and his Premier League experience could be telling.
Cooper has a proud record of working with younger talents and as a result, Longstaff could be the perfect January addition.