Matty Longstaff reveals the message from Newcastle United

The Newcastle United midfielder last week joined the Scottish Premiership club on a season-long loan after signing a contract extension.

Longstaff – who was on the fringes at St James’s Park last season – made his debut in Sunday’s draw against Ross County.

The 21-year-old was asked what the message from Newcastle had been before he joined Aberdeen.

“The message from Newcastle is to come up here, hopefully get games, and just see what happens,” said Longstaff, who memorably broke into Steve Bruce’s first-team squad two years ago.

“I’ve just got to take it week by week. I’m here now so my concentration is fully on Aberdeen – and finishing as high up the table as possible. I’m aiming to win games here, and whatever the future holds, it’ll hold.”

Longstaff spoke to Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass – who had a spell at United during his playing career – and assistant manager and midfielder Scott Brown before joining the club.

“I spoke to the manager and Scotty about silverware, and about doing well in the cup, which is going to be a big thing for us,” said Longstaff.

“I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully, I can add a bit of quality on the ball and a bit of energy.

“I didn’t get as many chances against Ross County, but, playing in a higher role, I’ll break into the box a bit more and try score a few goals. I’m here to help the team out, and hopefully, game by game, I can keep improving.”

Longstaff watched his elder brother Sean – who played for Newcastle in Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Southampton – play north of the border with Kilmarnock during a loan spell in 2017.

“It definitely wasn’t a surprise that the game was so fast,” Longstaff told the Press and Journal. “I used to drive up all the time and watch Sean. I knew what it was going to be like coming into the game.

“I guess it was quite helter-skelter. Coming into the game, I’d also spoken to the gaffer and Scott about what it would be like, and they said it would be a million miles an hour. It didn’t disappoint.”

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