The January transfer window will soon close and time is running out for Newcastle United to add a new central midfielder. The pending departure of Jonjo Shelvey has increased that need, but the performances of Sean Longstaff seem to have bought some time for Eddie Howe and Dan Ashworth to kick the can down the road until the summer. Although midfield reinforcements will be essential in the medium term, the return to form of the academy graduate has been key to our success.
During the summer, there was some disagreement in the fan base about whether it was correct to extend Longstaff’s contract. There were doubts about whether he was as committed to the club as you would expect from a North Shields lad. He had also failed to repeat the form he showed in his breakout season. During this time, he was linked to Manchester United.
2018/19 breakout season
The departure of Rafa Benitez came at the wrong time for Longstaff. The Spaniard rated the midfielder and placed faith in him ahead of more experienced players. A knee ligament injury ended his season early in 2018-19.
Source: Statsbomb
The above radar shows how effective he was during his breakout season. It was a limited sample size, but he was producing elite numbers off the ball. He averaged 23.71 pressures and 4.64 pressure regains per ninety minutes.
Benitez wanted Longstaff and Hayden to do the running in the middle of the park. There were no attacking demands on them, as can be seen across the rest of the above radar. The demand was on the off-the-ball running and aggressive defending. Both excelled at this. These are the same attributes that are helping Longstaff to excel in Eddie Howe’s team.
Unlike Hayden, Longstaff is a more technical player. It has taken him time to get his confidence back, but Howe’s coaching has seen his performances improve hugely. Even in 2019, it was clear he could do more with the ball if given licence.
2022/23 – Back to his best?
Source: Statsbomb
On first impressions, the radar looks less impressive. His pressure numbers aren’t quite as high, but it is worth remembering that we averaged 42.9% possession in 2018/19. That has increased to 50.1% in the current season. There is also a greater sample size shown in the radar above, which could have led to some levelling out.
That said, it is clear that Longstaff is slowly getting back to his best form. The big improvement he is showing under Howe is how he impacts games in an attacking sense now, both with and without the ball. In the above radar, he is averaging 0.12 xG assisted (xGA) per ninety minutes. This places him in the 80th percentile among midfielders.
His passing accuracy has remained around 80% in both radars, showing some consistency. However, it can be argued that this is more impressive now, as Longstaff is often further up the pitch than he was under Benitez. The more advanced a player is, the more pressure they are under, so to retain his ability to retain the ball is good and helps sustain attacks.
This is still an area of his game that Longstaff will want to improve, as at times, he can give the ball away in poor positions. His critics on social media do focus on this. 1.13 turnovers per ninety minutes only place him in the 59th percentile, but there is room for development.
One stat that he often tops is distance covered, which can’t be seen in the above graphic. His energy and tireless running mean he is an excellent fit for Howe’s high-intensity football.
Line breaking passes
Source: Statsbomb
Longstaff has been improving with every passing performance when it comes to his distribution. Under Benitez, he was asked to keep things simple. In the current team, Howe wants every player to take risks. The main playmaking duties fall on Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes, but the number six needs to play vertically at times.
The midfielder has completed 44 of his 66 attempted line-breaking passes at a success rate of 66.7%. A third of his line-breaking passes have been successful. As these come at a greater risk than the majority of passes that he plays, this is an impressive completion rate.
Although he lacks the technical quality that Bruno, Trippier or even Jonjo Shelvey possess, he does have the ability to be quick in transition.
Passing into the opposition’s half
There is a fluidity to Longstaff’s role in the current system. He and Bruno are often switching positions, which means he needs to master the number six and number eight roles. To be effective as one of the box-to-box midfielders, you need to be confident moving the ball into the attacking half.
Longstaff has an eye for goal and an engine that allows him to cover huge areas of space.
Source: Statsbomb
The above shows that he looks to be positive in his passing when he’s looking to move the ball into the opposition’s half. Many of these would be registered as a line-breaking pass, as he is looking to move the ball quickly into the final third.
Source: Statsbomb
The above graphic shows Longstaff’s passes across the pitch. There is a right-side bias, both in terms of his positioning and his preference of passing direction. It is no surprise that the team does a lot of good work down that side of the pitch. Kieran Trippier and Miguel Almiron take the credit, but Longstaff is a key part of the attacking patterns down that side.
One of the reasons why Longstaff has become a starter this season is his ability to recycle the ball effectively. He is able to retain the ball across the pitch and this allows us to maintain pressure on the opposition team. Longstaff can be trusted with the ball.
Defensive work rate
Source: Statsbomb
The above graphic shows how active Longstaff is down the right flank. In the current formation, he is often on the right flank to assist Trippier and Almiron, with Bruno dropping centrally when we are out of possession.
Longstaff is most active just inside the opposition half, which emphasises the high press that Howe has coached. There are even some defensive actions in the opposition penalty area, underlining how advanced Longstaff can be.
Source: Wyscout
The above graphic shows Longstaff’s anticipation and reading of the game. It would have been easy for him to drop deep as it was a Tottenham goal-kick, but he stayed in the opposition half and won the ball back from Lloris’ pass.
This creates a dangerous situation as Tottenham aren’t set up to defend. It was a situation that didn’t suggest danger, as their keeper had the ball, but as Longstaff wins it back, we can attack through Almiron.
The goal itself is all about the confidence and composure of Almiron to get into the penalty box to finish. However, it could never have happened without the aggressive off-the-ball work of Longstaff.
Source: Statsbomb
The pressing numbers show why Longstaff is very well-liked by Howe. He is currently among the most active and aggressive pressers in the squad. Until now, if Longstaff had dropped out of the team, there would have been a small drop-off in pressing. This is why he has retained his place, even with the return of Allan Saint-Maximin and the temporary return of Jonjo Shelvey. Whether the addition of Anthony Gordon changes this remains to be seen.
Shooting – getting into more advanced positions?
Since breaking into the first team, Longstaff has always offered a goal threat. However, there has been a change in his shooting patterns this season. In previous years, it has been his ball striking from distance that has brought a lot of his goals.
The above strike against Watford last season displays how emphatic the midfielder can be from range. It takes one touch to set himself and then he fires a fantastic strike to give us a lead.
This season, there has been a change as he is getting into the box much more often. His Fulham goal shows his new attacking instincts. Meanwhile, his goal in a recent friendly against Rayo Vallecano was another example of Longstaff getting into the box and getting his reward.
Source: Statsbomb
His shot map above shows all of his attempts in the Premier League. It is clear that he has favoured long-distance strikes. Although these are still a part of his game, he is getting into the box more regularly. A lot of his shots inside the area have come under Eddie Howe. I would expect this trend to continue over the rest of the season. As a result of this, Longstaff should become a more regular goal-scorer.
Source: NUFC
The first graphic shows Longstaff’s position when Almiron picks up the ball on the right wing. In the second graphic, you can see Longstaff has managed to break into the Leicester penalty box on the right side. By doing this, he creates the space on the edge of the area for Almiron to receive a return pass.
There is then the opportunity for Almiron to dart between the Leicester defenders, with one focused on Longstaff. It is intelligent movement and impressive physicality from Longstaff. He doesn’t play a direct role in the goal, but he does a lot to facilitate it. This is why Howe wants athletic players in midfield, as much for their off-the-ball running as their technical quality on it.
Creativity – an area to work on?
I think this is an area for a lot of our midfielders to work on, including Longstaff. It is the reason why Eddie Howe is looking to add more quality in the middle of the park.
Longstaff has two assists this season. One was discussed above for Almiron against Tottenham. It was more about his pressing and anticipation than a great forward pass, as it is Almiron who did a lot of the hard work.
His other assist showed that Longstaff can create chances in the final third. It was a great forward pass to Alexander Isak against Liverpool. He perfectly weighted the through ball and gave Isak a chance he would have dreamed of on debut.
However, we don’t see enough of this from Longstaff. His pass success rate in the final third is 62.3%, while he is averaging just 1.94 shot-creating actions per ninety minutes. For a midfielder playing in a top-four team (currently), this is under par.
Source: Statsbomb
The above graphic shows Longstaff’s assists and key passes this season. There isn’t a great volume of them, and he will know he will need to become more creative if he is to maintain his place in the first team.
Does he retain his place in the first team?
Despite some believing that Longstaff is a weakness in the first team, there is no doubt that he has made huge steps in his development under Howe. His new contract now looks to be a smart piece of business, as he is an academy graduate capable of playing to a high level in the Premier League. With Europe on the horizon, we will need to have some homegrown players in the squad. Longstaff is the best one we currently have.
As it now looks unlikely that we will sign a player to start in the first team, Longstaff is guaranteed to get plenty of minutes for the rest of the season. This is a chance for him to consolidate his place and develop further before the summer transfer window.
Source: Statsbomb
Source: Statsbomb
The above graphics show Longstaff compared to both Joe Willock and Joelinton, who are his main competitors at the time of writing. Bruno Guimaraes is a lock to start in midfield. Although all four can start together, it is more likely that one will drop out as Saint-Maximin and Isak get back to full fitness.
Longstaff is higher in pressures and off-the-ball running than the other two, while he gives the ball away far less.
However, Willock and Joelinton are both more aggressive in winning the ball back. Moreover, they offer more in the final third. Joelinton’s ball-winning is clear of the other two.
It is an interesting problem for Howe. The right answer could change from week to week based on the match-ups. Against teams we are going to concede possession to, Longstaff could be a better pick than Willock, due to his pressing and reliability with the ball.
Against a team that wants to set up in a deep block, Willock will need to play, as he is a better attacking option.
This time last season, there were debates about whether Longstaff should even be offered a new contract. Now it is clear, he has a role to play in Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United.
