Newcastle United brushed Nottingham Forest aside on Sunday, advancing to eighth in the Premier League, and Eddie Howe‘s side’s fluency is slotting back into place like a new and improved framework installation.
St. James’ Park has indeed seen some dramatic figurative construction work across the past several years, but injuries ravaged the Champions League-competing team last year and now the Magpies are looking to take flight once more.
Most of the top-four-qualifying fold remain on Tyneside, but a younger crop has been welcomed and are starting to make their mark. Two of the finest, Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall, have really come into their own this season, and have been rewarded for their efforts with a call-up to England’s senior squad.
Lewis Hall & Tino Livramento’s blossoming partnership
Livramento, who turned 22 today, has already stepped into national life, sitting on the bench for each of his team’s four Nations League matches so far, though he is yet to make his debut.
The 20-year-old Hall, however, will taste Three Lions action for the maiden time after going from strength to strength in black and white this year. He joined from Chelsea in 2023 but was limited to a bit-part role across the 2023/24 campaign, starting eight Premier League matches.
This bears testament to the gains that the pairing has made on Newcastle’s defensive flanks this season, playing an increasingly important role for Howe and his success-chasing side.
Premier League 24/25: Tino Livramento & Lewis Hall | ||
|---|---|---|
Match Stats* | ||
Matches (starts) | 11 (8) | 11 (8) |
Goals | 0 | 0 |
Assists | 0 | 1 |
Touches* | 43.9 | 66.8 |
Pass completion | 81% | 84% |
Key passes* | 0.5 | 1.2 |
Ball recoveries* | 4.6 | 4.3 |
Dribble (success)* | 0.5 (83%) | 0.3 (60%) |
Tackles + interceptions* | 2.3 | 2.6 |
Total duels (won)* | 4.0 (59%) | 3.6 (50%) |
Stats via Sofascore (* = per game) | ||
Football coach Harry Brooks said during pre-season that “Hall and Livramento will be the most dynamic full-back pairing in the league next season if they’re both let loose.” The leash has indeed been taken off, and such prodigies are starting to make their mark.
They join Anthony Gordon in representing Tyneside on the international stage, but there’s actually another Newcastle member who may well have been overlooked – and his name’s Sean Longstaff.
In 2021, Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle slapped a £10m asking price on Longstaff’s signature, and the homegrown talent looked for all the world to be bound for Everton, but it didn’t come together.
Now, he’s thriving within Howe’s system, crucial and “underrated”, as Hall has declared him. Livramento and his dynamic defensive partner have rightly found themselves in the England equation, but has Longstaff been overlooked? Maybe so.
Sean Longstaff deserved an England call-up
There’s been something of an exodus in the England camp, with a number of high-profile stars pulling out from international duty this month with injuries. Supposed injuries, in any case.
Lee Carsley’s goodbye party will be lacking many key parts, and given that Declan Rice has withdrawn as he battles against a setback, Longstaff might have been a shrewd option to bring into the fold for the forthcoming Nations League fixtures.
The Magpies native, 27, has been a force in the engine room this term, averaging 2.4 tackles per game and winning 60% of his ground duels, as per Sofascore. With a ceaseless supply of energy, he’s a singular player to have at your disposal.
As per FBref’s player comparison model, Longstaff is actually a comparable player to Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo, who has missed out on Carsley’s final Three Lions squad due to injury.
Even so, the Red Devils up-and-comer made a marked impression under Gareth Southgate this summer, finding a degree of balance alongside Rice in the middle of the park and helping his nation through to the final, where they were defeated by Spain.
Longstaff’s tenacity and industriousness in midfield could bring fluency to an England side studded with attacking stars. The nation is indeed replete with firepower, even if some of the biggest guns have not been loaded this month.
Balance was decidedly negligible in Germany; it’s something of a miracle that England dragged themselves through to the final stage.
And for this reason, why not throw Longstaff into the mix? His likeness to Mainoo suggests that he offers the style of play that would be suited to the England team, while his defensive assuredness and energy levels would provide the forwards with the requisite supply to wreak havoc in the final third.
Moreover, Longstaff has a demonstrable attacking threat of his own, scoring eight times across 46 matches in all competitions for the Toon last season, showcasing an extra dimension that many midfielders do not carry within their skill set.
Once hailed as his outfit’s “unsung hero” by pundit Paul Merson, Longstaff truly has the talent to make his mark at the pinnacle, and given the fluidity that has been established with the likes of Livramento and Hall – and Gordon too – there’s a solid case to be made that he should finally be blooded within the England set-up.
Longstaff is not the flashiest player, nor the most creative, but football is a game made up of so many parts, and Longstaff has proven for several years now that he’s the real deal, a core cog within Howe’s system.
He’s missed out, and will instead enjoy a week’s rest, but with players sitting this sojourn out, maybe Newcastle’s academy superstar should have been rewarded.
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