Matty Longstaff: Aberdeen fans far from impressed with Newcastle fan favourite’s loan spell

Now 21, the younger brother of fellow United midfielder Sean, has gone from the North East of England to the North East of Scotland to get some more regular game time under his belt at Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen.

It was a move which raised a few eyebrows amongst the Geordie faithful with many believing the former England youth international’s development would be better suited at an EFL Championship club.

However, the deal looked a good one on paper with the Dons having a decent track record of developing future Premier League stars from loan spells such as James Maddison, Danny Ward and Michael Hector.

From the Aberdeen side though, it seemed somewhat strange with their current squad already having a depth of talent in central midfield which includes the likes of Celtic legend Scott Brown and current Scotland international Lewis Ferguson.

Now, three full months into his loan spell, Longstaff has made just five appearances with only three of those as starts.

Not only that but Aberdeen are in dreadful form this season with just four wins from 15 Scottish Premiership matches.

Longstaff’s loan could be best summed up from Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Celtic where the Dons had to substitute off central midfielders Dylan McGeough and Scott Brown due to injuries and opted not to replace either with the Newcastle loanee who remained on the bench.

Aberdeen FC fan podcast “Here we Go - AFC” tweeted: “Two injuries to central midfielders this afternoon and Longstaff still doesn’t get a look-in. What a pointless signing.”

The responses from that statement provided an insight to the views of there fans on the 21 year old, based on his five matches for the club so far.

@JMScott1903: “I hope he never gets on, one of our worst loan signings, and there is a lot of competition in that category”

@hightimes75: “Longstaff miles off the pace in every game”

@michaelduthie:“Shouldn’t get a look. He’s absolutely honking”

Replying to another tweet suggesting the money spent on Longstaff’s wages could have been put to better use on other players, @FreeNwakali added: “Or towards some new seats in the south stand. Both would make a similar impact on the pitch”

It’s now looking likely that Longstaff will return to St James’ park in January, unless he sees a drastic rise in game time and improvement in form next month.

New United boss Eddie Howe might want to take a closer look at the midfielder before deciding whether to retain him for the second half of the campaign or find him a better suited move.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass could look to shake-up his own squad in a bid to turn their season around and might not have too many objections to freeing up part of the wage bill at Longstaff’s expense.

With both those factors in mind, it may very well be best for all parties concerned if the younger of the Longstaff brothers does indeed cut short his time north of the border.