Leeds United midfielder Sean Longstaff has settled into life in West Yorkshire well after his summer arrival from Newcastle United.
Sean Longstaff was one of Leeds United’s 10 new summer arrivals, with Leeds paying Newcastle United £15 million (including add-ons) for the 27-year-old’s services.
Longstaff has been named one of Leeds’ three best signings already but his consistency seems to improve by the game in a white shirt, following his departure from his boyhood club.
Longstaff was ranked the best Premier League player this weekend for his display against AFC Bournemouth. In fact, Leeds fans think Longstaff is underrated after Bournemouth and his ‘masterclass’ display.
Leeds’ Sean Longstaff and Spurs’ Joao Palhinha lead the way for Premier League tackles
Longstaff was first linked to Leeds back in March 2024. Longstaff’s intensity and work-rate data attracted Leeds’ recruitment team and the data and analytics department.
Longstaff’s impressive out of possession work for Newcastle was without question but the goal and assist on Saturday underlined that he can be so much more than that for Leeds.
In fact, Jamie Carragher loves the off-ball aspect of Longstaff’s game most and Squawka revealed on X (formerly Twitter) just how impressive he can be in scrapping and winning duels.
Longstaff made 14 tackles in the month of September, with only seven other players in Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1) having more than that, including no Newcastle players.
Newcastle have excellent players off the ball in their team, but none of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, or Dan Burn are anywhere to be seen regarding this metric.
It was seen in their visit to Elland Road, where Longstaff was Man of the Match against Newcastle. He was everywhere in the 0-0 and only one player in the Premier League has more tackles than the English midfielder.
Funnily enough, it is Joao Palhinha of Spurs (17), with the midfielder Longstaff’s next opponent on Saturday. It should make for an interesting and gritty match-up, with both so strong in that respect.
His improvement is seen by the game and Daniel Farke thinks Longstaff is already a real leader, given his determination and the all-round nature of his displays so far since his arrival from Newcastle.
Sean Longstaff describes the differences in atmosphere between Elland Road and St. James’ Park
Karl Darlow and Longstaff have a bromance already, but they are also two players who have both been able to play for the home side in the famous atmospheres of Elland Road and St. James’ Park.
They are considered as two of the best in the country by most neutrals. They are one-club cities in the north and renowned for their passion, but how do they compare? Longstaff has described Leeds’ atmosphere vs Newcastle’s.
He said: “They’ve [Newcastle] got some of the best travelling fans in the world. But I’ve been lucky enough to join a club whose fans are just as good, if not better.
“Both really passionate fan bases and pleasure to play in front of both of them.”
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