I knew I had to leave Newcastle United after £300m investment - but Dan Ashworth offered me a lifeline
Matty Longstaff started his Newcastle United career with so much promise after scoring on his Premier League debut against Manchester United.
Five years later, the midfielder is playing in the MLS with Toronto FC. The move came after Longstaff was released by Newcastle in 2023 after being limited to just 20 first-team appearances.
After an impressive breakthrough campaign saw him score three goals in 15 appearances, Longstaff signed a new deal at Newcastle. But he would spend almost the entire duration of his new contract away from the first team as he ran down his deal alongside loan spells at Aberdeen, Mansfield Town and Colchester United.
A serious knee injury in December 2022 while on loan at Colchester ended any slim chance Longstaff had of remaining at Newcastle.
But the 24-year-old admitted that he felt the writing was on the wall in terms of his time at Newcastle from the moment the club were taken over in October 2021.
“As a fan, I was buzzing,” Longstaff told The Athletic. “You just have to look at where they are now and where they can go, that made me so happy.
“But I wasn’t stupid, I was thinking, ‘That’s me done at Newcastle, I need to move on’.”
After his release, Longstaff was allowed to use Newcastle’s facilities to work on his injury recovery. Former sporting director Dan Ashworth even offered to help Longstaff earn his coaching badges and work within the academy. “Dan Ashworth said to me: ‘You’ve helped get this place to where it is. We’ll always remember what you’ve done and we’re going to look after you. It doesn’t matter how long it takes’,” Longstaff added.
“The manager [Eddie Howe] rang and said: ‘You’re such a positive person around the place. Keep being you, keep being positive, because it lifts the mood. Don’t feel for one minute that you don’t deserve to be here. The lads love you’.”
Longstaff ultimately walked away from Ashworth’s coaching offer and a potential wage at Newcastle to focus on his recovery and ended up securing a move to Toronto in February.
“I have always wanted to go abroad and once I knew my career was done at Newcastle, I thought, ‘I want to try something different’,” he continued.
“For a club like Toronto, with so much history and a Geordie manager [John Herdman], to present me with this opportunity, everything aligned. I wanted to get away and rebuild myself, and see where I can go from here. It’s been just what I needed.”
For the first time in his career, Longstaff is playing regular football having amassed 40 appearances during the 2024 regular season, scoring three goals.
Matty is the younger brother of current Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff - who has now made almost 200 appearances for the club after graduating from the academy. He also scored in the famous 4-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last year.
“I’m so proud of everything Sean has achieved,” Matty said. “He gets stick from certain fans at times, which he doesn’t deserve, and he’s made a scapegoat.
“But look at the games he’s played, the goals he’s scored in big games, and how mentally strong he is. I’ve always looked up to him and even more so now. I don’t think people understand the pressures of being the homegrown kid.”