Sean Longstaff

Sean Longstaff

Longstaff playing for Newcastle United in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Sean David Longstaff [1]
Date of birth	(1997-10-30) 30 October 1997 (age 27) [2]
Place of birth	North Shields, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.87 m) [2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Leeds United
Number	8
Youth career
2006–2016	Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2025	Newcastle United	171	(10)
2017	→ Kilmarnock (loan)	16	(3)
2017–2018	→ Blackpool (loan)	42	(8)
2025–	Leeds United	6	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:04, 27 September 2025 (UTC)

Sean David Longstaff (born 30 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Leeds United.

Career

Newcastle United

Longstaff began his career with the youth team of Newcastle United at 9 years old. He moved on loan to Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock in January 2017, along with Callum Roberts and Freddie Woodman. ^[3] In July 2017, he signed on loan for EFL League One club Blackpool for the 2017–18 season ^[4] where he made 45 appearances and scored nine goals. ^[5]

His first goal for the Newcastle United first team was on 17 July 2018, when he opened the scoring in a 2–0 win over St Patrick's Athletic in a pre-season friendly at Richmond Park. ^[6] Longstaff impressed manager Rafa Benítez in pre-season and was rewarded with a four-year contract in November 2018. ^[7] Longstaff made his competitive first team debut against Nottingham Forest in the second round of the EFL Cup in August 2018, before making his Premier League debut as a second-half substitute against Liverpool at Anfield the following December. ^[3] This was followed up by his first goal in an FA Cup third round replay against Blackburn Rovers before he put in a memorable performance by winning the penalty that gave Newcastle a 2–1 win over champions Manchester City in January 2019. ^{[8] [9]}

On 26 February 2019, Longstaff scored his first Premier League goal for Newcastle in a 2–0 win over Burnley. ^[10]

In March 2019, Longstaff was ruled out for the rest of the 2018–19 season following a knee ligament injury. ^[11]

On 31 January 2023, he scored a brace in a 2–1 win over Southampton in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg to qualify his club to their first final since 1999. ^[12]

On 4 October 2023, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal, in a 4–1 win over Paris Saint-Germain at St James' Park. ^[13]

On 16 March 2025, Longstaff appeared on the bench in the 2025 EFL Cup final as Newcastle won their first major domestic trophy in 70 years. ^[14] Longstaff scored the winning penalty in the penalty shootout away to Nottingham Forest in the second round of the competition to help the club on their way to success. ^[15]

Leeds United

On 18 July 2025, Longstaff signed a reported 4-year deal worth a reported £12m plus potential add-ons with Leeds United, ending his long stint at Newcastle United. ^{[16] [17]}

Personal life

Raised in North Shields, Longstaff's younger brother Matty is a footballer who plays for CF Montréal. ^[18] Their father David is a former Great Britain ice hockey player, who featured over 100 times for the national side, and was a coach for the Whitley Warriors until the end of the 2022/23 Season. David Longstaff is also the cousin of former England international Alan Thompson. ^[19] They are not related to former Newcastle academy player Luis Longstaff. ^[20]

Longstaff's father stated that both Sean and Matty are lifelong fans of Newcastle United. ^[21]

Career statistics

As of match played 27 September 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Newcastle United	2018–19 [22]	Premier League	9	1	3	1	1	0	—		13	2
	2019–20 [23]	Premier League	23	1	6	1	0	0	—		29	2
	2020–21 [24]	Premier League	22	0	1	0	4	0	—		27	0
	2021–22 [25]	Premier League	24	1	1	0	1	0	—		26	1
	2022–23 [26]	Premier League	33	1	1	0	7	2	—		41	3
	2023–24 [27]	Premier League	35	6	4	1	2	0	5 [c]	1	46	8
	2024–25 [28]	Premier League	25	0	2	0	5	0	—		32	0
	Total		171	10	18	3	20	2	5	1	214	16
Kilmarnock (loan)	2016–17 [29]	Scottish Premiership	16	3	1	0	—		—		17	3
Blackpool (loan)	2017–18 [30]	League One	42	8	1	0	1	0	1 [d]	1	45	9
Leeds United	2025–26	Premier League	6	1	0	0	1	0	—		7	1
Career total			235	22	19	2	22	2	9	2	285	28

1. Includes FA Cup, Scottish Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Appearance in EFL Trophy

Honours

Newcastle United

• EFL Cup: 2024–25; ^[31] runner-up: 2022–23 ^[32]

References

1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
2. "Sean Longstaff". Newcastle United F.C. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
3. "From Academy Prospect to Premier League Regular: The Story of Sean Longstaff". Football Park. 27 August 2025. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
4. "Sean Longstaff: Blackpool sign teenage Newcastle United midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
5. "What next for Sean Longstaff?". The Athletic. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
6. Donnelly, Dave. "Friendly Report: St Patrick's Athletic 0 - 2 Newcastle United". extratime.com.
7. "Longstaff signs new four-year deal". Newcastle United Football Club.
8. "Newcastle see off Blackburn with Joselu and Ayoze Pérez extra-time flourish". Guardian. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
9. "Newcastle's Matt Ritchie on the spot to dent Manchester City's title hopes". Guardian. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
10. "Sean Longstaff on target as Newcastle end Burnley's good run". The Guardian. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
11. "Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff 'likely' to miss rest of season with injury". BBC Sport. 7 March 2019.
12. "Newcastle cruise into Carabao Cup final after Sean Longstaff sinks Southampton". The Guardian. 1 February 2023.
13. "'I'm so proud to be from Newcastle' - Longstaff on historic night". BBC Sport. 4 October 2023.
14. "BBC Football" . Retrieved 21 March 2025.
15. "BBC Football". 28 August 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
16. "Sean Longstaff signs for Leeds United". Leeds United . 18 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
17. Rajan, Adwaidh (18 July 2025). "Longstaff joins Leeds from Newcastle in £12m move". BBC Sport. BBC News . BBC . Retrieved 18 July 2025.
18. "Toronto FC trade Midfielder Matty Longstaff to CF Montréal in exchange for Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and up to $275,000 in GAM". Toronto FC . 13 August 2025.
19. "Newcastle's Sean Longstaff: the new Carrick with added ice in his veins". Guardian. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
20. Meet the Academy: Luis Longstaff, Steve Hunter, Liverpool FC, 8 May 2020
21. LIVE: Newcastle United's Sean Longstaff... - BBC Newcastle - Radio for the North East , retrieved 27 June 2019
22. "Games played by Sean Longstaff in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
23. "Games played by Sean Longstaff in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
24. "Games played by Sean Longstaff in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
25. "Games played by Sean Longstaff in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
26. "Games played by Sean Longstaff in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
27. "Games played by Sean Longstaff in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
28. "Games played by Sean Longstaff in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
29. "Games played by Sean Longstaff in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
30. "Games played by Sean Longstaff in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
31. "Liverpool 1–2 Newcastle United: Line-ups". BBC Sport. 16 March 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
32. McNulty, Phil (26 February 2023). "Manchester United 2–0 Newcastle United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2023.