Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has highlighted Sean Longstaff as one of the underrated stars of the season so far. At one point, it looked like his black and white career may be stagnating, but Eddie Howe's arrival has given the midfielder a new lease of life.
Alongside Bruno Guimaraes, Joe Willock and Joelinton, Longstaff has formed a formidable midfield unit and is proving a vital cog in the Newcastle machine. Against Fulham, Longstaff ran 11.1km, leading the running charts for the Magpies.
Looking back at the performance on Match of The Day 2, Shearer said: "They played really, really well Fulham and made it difficult. I thought it was always going to be difficult after midweek on the high they were in, the atmosphere was amazing. But, then you were back to reality a little bit today.
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"Eve the crowd were a little bit quieter than they normally were, but we've spoken about Almiron, we've spoken about Joelinton and Schar and the improvement that Eddie Howe has made in these players. But I think someone who has gone under the radar, perhaps unfairly, is Sean Longstaff.
"His performance today and a lot of this season has been superb. I thought he controlled a lot of it today, he does this very well [runs into the box from deep], if he could just work on his finishing a little bit, that's a fantastic challenge but he gets into so many good positions, then it would be a different story.
"He doesn't half do his bit for the team and winning the ball back. That's the good thing that I like about him, a lot of the time, he actually plays the ball forward.
"His first thought is [to go forward] and it makes the job for a forward easier. He wins the ball back here with a simple header, but it then puts Newcastle and Callum Wilson on the front foot and they get an opportunity from that.
"His role changed in the second-half because Bruno went off, he moved from the right side into the centre and he did a really good job. I mentioned about forward passing, that's what he did really well, in terms of keeping the ball and really pinging it into forward players. He broke that midfield line and you're into the back line.
"For a forward it makes your job easier when you've got someone prepared to do that, a midfielder who can do that. This is an unbelievable cross [for the winner] late into the game, that wins it, good ball, Callum Wilson keeps it alive and Isak gets his goal. What a really good performance.
"This will be no surprise to the Newcastle fans [11.1km covered by Longstaff against Fulham] because they see that. They see his energy, determination, that's a regular. They see most games he runs a lot more than anyone else. The grass that he covers is incredible."
Host Mark Chapman highlighted that Longstaff may have been one of the players to fall foul of Newcastle's success in the past, leaving him susceptible to being replaced in the transfer market. However, given his incredible run of form, the midfielder is now almost impossible to drop.
Shearer said: "The one thing he can improve on is his finishing. If he does that, he'll be an unbelievable midfielder. That's what they're going to have to work out [finding a balance if they take out Longstaff or he gets injured], yes, Newcastle need a little bit more creativity I think in there, but they also can't lose that work ethic because that's got there where they are at the moment."
Danny Murphy was also in agreement, he said: "You might find midfielders who have a bit more ability and creativity with goals, but you'd do well to find one that's got that and his work ethic moving forward. That's the balance Newcastle have to find because at the moment, what they've got - Alan sees them more than me - they've got an 11 where they carry no one.
"Every one of them grafts. That's why they went to Arsenal and got a result because their wide men were tracking back and doing the defensive work. It's a delicate balance of finding better than can bring that work ethic.
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