‘Ridiculously good’ - Sean Longstaff blown away by history-making Newcastle United star

Sean Longstaff has hailed the impact Lewis Miley has had in the Newcastle United first-team after the 17-year-old scored his first ever senior goal for the club during their win over Fulham. Longstaff replaced Miley in the starting XI for the visit of Marco Silva’s side before the teenager was introduced to proceedings in the first period after Joelinton’s injury.

Longstaff, who also came through the club’s academy system, revealed his delight in Miley scoring his first goal for the club, but admitted his form isn’t a surprise to those that have trained alongside him on a daily basis. Longstaff said: “I’m so happy for him. 

“In fairness to him he probably didn’t deserve to come out of the team but it’s just one of those things. You come in and feel a little bit bad for him because of how well he’s done but he’s also 17 and there will be loads more games and the perfect response is to come on and score and it’s a massive goal. 

“It could be one of the biggest goals in our season to kick start us for the rest of it. I’m really proud of him and happy for him.

“There’s a reason he’s been around the senior squad for so long and there’s a reason why we all speak so highly of him. None of us are surprised about what’s happened because he’s ridiculously good. It’s the way he receives the ball, the way he passes it, he’s a good size. His start to life in the Premier League and Champions League has been absolutely unbelievable and I’m so happy for him. 

“He’s come in the dressing-room just now and you couldn’t tell he’s scored, he’s just exactly the same. Everyone started shouting and screaming at him, telling him to give us a speech and ‘dance, dance’ and he just put his head down like a typical 17-year-old kid and said ‘naaaa’. He just sat there as if he’s used to doing it. 

“I’m really happy for him, he’s such a humble kid. He’s got all the talent in the world and we’re just lucky to have him.”

Hopes are high that Miley can follow in the footsteps of players like Longstaff and Elliot Anderson and establish himself as a first-team player at St James’ Park. Miley became the club’s youngest ever Premier League scorer on Saturday and Longstaff believes he has the right support structure at the club to flourish and reach his sky-high potential.

“He’s got the perfect people to guide him through it,” Longstaff said. “He’s got great pros around him who will help him too and he comes from a good family and he’s got his feet on the ground. All that is probably 90 percent of it. If he doesn’t get carried away and keeps working hard and keeps enjoying it, that’s the main thing. 

“He shouldn’t put too much pressure on himself because there probably will come a time when it dips a little bit because that’s just natural. We hope that doesn’t happen of course and if he keeps the level head he’s got I’m sure he’ll be fine.”