Lee delighted with Longstaff brothers

Rob Lee says it is great to see the Longstaff brothers, Sean and Matty, flying the flag for local lads in Newcastle United’s first team this season. North Shields-born Sean, the oldest of the Longstaff brothers at 22 years of age, made his Premier League debut for the Magpies in the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on Boxing Day last year.
The midfielder went on to play another eight league games under then-manager Rafael Benitez before he was ruled out for the remainder of the 2018/19 campaign in March, having suffered a knee ligament injury in the 2-0 defeat at West Ham United.
Younger sibling Matty, who is 19, made a memorable debut for Newcastle on October 6 this year, starting alongside his brother and netting the only goal in the 1-0 victory over Manchester United at St James’ Park.
Since that game, Matty has made a further two appearances in the top flight while Sean also featured in the next two games, where he was sent off in the 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Lee, who played for the Magpies from 1992-2002, says it is great to see the local lads doing well in the first team and their inclusion reminds him of his time on Tyneside.
He told the Chronicle: “I love them both. When I first came up here Sir John Hall told us he wanted a team of 11 Geordies. It’s great to see a team of local lads. We had Steve Watson, Lee Clark, Robbie Elliott, Steve Howey and Alan Neilson. We had a lot of local lads.”
Newcastle, on a three-game unbeaten run, return to action on November 25 when they make the trip to Villa Park to take on Dean Smith’s men.
The visitors will be without Sean, who has one more game of his three-match ban to go, but Matty is expected to travel on the back of an England Under-20 call-up after making his debut in a 4-0 win over Portugal.