Steve Bruce makes surprising contract claim at Newcastle United

Matty Longstaff, Federico Fernandez and Javier Manquillo are all out of contract at the club at the end of the season.

Bruce spoke last week of the need for “conversations” with Fernandez and Manquillo, while talks with Longstaff are at an “impasse”. United’s head coach was was if uncertainty over contracts was an issue at the club, beaten 4-0 by Arsenal yesterday.

“There’s no uncertainty in the air,” said Bruce. “I think it’s normal. We’ve just come out of the January window, and we’ve now got three or four months to start talking, which already has happened. There’s no real sense of urgency at all. Of course, the big one is young Matty, but we’ll keep trying and plugging away.”

The Gazette understands that Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Ritchie have agreed new deals at Newcastle.