Latest news with #SeanLongstaff
New York Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Will Sean Longstaff keep playing cricket after joining Leeds? He already has one offer
Sean Longstaff's unveiling as Leeds United's latest summer signing was not your typical affair. Sure, there were plenty of big smiles to go with the obligatory now-available-in-the-shops kit, in this case the electric blue number that Daniel Farke's side will sport on the road in the Premier League. Advertisement But, where most new arrivals are handed a club scarf or even a football to hold aloft, the 27-year-old was instead clutching the symbol of a very different sport. Namely, a shiny red cricket ball. The unusual prop was a nod to Longstaff's other big sporting passion, as seen by the wider world on social media in the last couple of summers with footage of him bowling for Tynemouth Cricket Club. As the former Newcastle United midfielder explained to The Athletic just last weekend, he uses cricket as a close-season escape from the pressures of professional football, having first played for the north east club at the age of 11. Nigel Martyn, an Elland Road legend who today plays club cricket for Knaresborough in the ECB Yorkshire Premier League North, has seen the online clip of Longstaff bowling. Unreal! Newcastle player Sean Longstaff taking a wicket today for Tynemouth CC ☝️ — Cricket Shouts 🏏 (@crickshouts) July 5, 2025 'Sean has got a good bowling action,' says the former England goalkeeper. 'Gets through OK. Now he's signed for Leeds, there'll be a host of clubs who would welcome him with open arms, I'm sure. He's more than welcome to come and play for Knaresborough.' Longstaff's north-east roots running so deep mean any potential suitors for the 2026 cricket season are likely to be left disappointed. Pals at Tynemouth, while happy to see his football future sorted via that £12million move to West Yorkshire, have made it clear where his loyalties lay. 'They were reminding me I've left Newcastle,' said Longstaff in last weekend's interview, 'but I've not left Tynemouth Cricket Club.' Longstaff's most recent appearance for Tynemouth came in the July 5 victory over Felling. He scored 17 runs and took one wicket in what was his fourth appearance of the season for the club's first XI. Advertisement Whether he will be allowed to continue now that he is a Leeds player remains to be seen. During his seven years at Elland Road after being signed by Howard Wilkinson in the summer of 1996, Martyn's contract meant cricket was out of bounds for fear he might get injured. It was the same at all his clubs, with Gerry Francis, the manager of Bristol Rovers who gave the Cornishman his Football League chance in 1987, even forbidding his players from going on a jet ski when abroad during the summer. 1st XI v 1st XI 1st XI 36/3 (10), 285 reqd off 40 ov 9.3: Giddings to Scott, OUT Tom Scott c Nigel Martyn b Toby Giddings 0 (2) — Knaresborough CC (@KnaresboroughCC) June 18, 2022 As much as he loves cricket, Martyn was never tempted to try to squeeze in an appearance given how important his hands were to his career. Considering his managers at Leeds included disciplinarians such as Wilkinson and George Graham, this was probably for the best. 'I don't think it would have gone down well to turn up and tell them I had a broken finger or whatever,' he says. 'I'd have had to say it happened when doing something else.' Cricket and football used to be natural bedfellows, even at the top level. Denis Compton played 78 Test matches for England but lifted the FA Cup with Arsenal in 1950, while Ian Botham, one of the all-time great cricketers, kept fit during the winter months by playing for Scunthorpe United in the old Fourth Division. In Longstaff's newly adopted county, plenty enjoyed a dual career, with former Sheffield United full-back Ted Hemsley spending 17 years as a professional footballer and 21 years with Worcestershire County Cricket Club. Things started to change, however, when the respective seasons started to overlap in the early 1990s. Many had to choose, with Gary and Phil Neville both calling time on promising cricket careers to concentrate on trying to make it at Manchester United, just as James Milner did at Leeds before becoming the Premier League's second-youngest player for a time after making his debut aged just 16 years and 309 days. Advertisement Managers taking a dim view of their players risking injury made playing even club cricket difficult. Some chose to don the cricket whites anyway, including Huddersfield Town striker Andy Booth, not long after breaking into the team as a teenager under Neil Warnock in the mid-1990s. He hit 165 not out one Sunday in August for Hall Bower in the Huddersfield League, only to then turn up the following day at Town unable to train due to a bad back. Both Warnock and the club physio were puzzled by the injury. That was until Warnock, by chance, attended a cricket dinner a couple of days later and a Hall Bower official inadvertently let slip about Booth's epic innings. 'I was fuming inside,' wrote Warnock in his 2007 autobiography Made In Sheffield. 'You'll have a different kind of f***ing knock tomorrow, Boothy, I thought to myself. 'No wonder he had a bloody bad back. He'd been out at the crease for about four hours. I gave him a right going over.' Martyn's return to club cricket did not come until after he had retired. He joined Leeds Modernians in 2010, overcoming fears that the ankle injury that brought the curtain down on his football career may hinder a return to the crease. A move to Knaresborough followed for the goalkeeper turned wicketkeeper, who was part of the team that won promotion last year to the Yorkshire Premier. This time around, he is also turning out for Cornwall Over-50s, who last Sunday beat their Sussex counterparts to set up a National Cup quarter-final clash with Lancashire. As Longstaff found when footage of his wicket against Felling went viral, little remains under wraps in the modern sporting era. Martyn's cricket exploits may not have been quite as high-profile as the new Leeds signing, but he's been on the scene for so many years now that few heads are turned by his presence in the opposition. Advertisement 'There's probably only been one time when it's been different,' he says. 'We were playing Dringhouses away. They had a few Leeds United fans in their team, so were all asking for a few photos before the game. 'But that's the only real time when the opposition have taken a second look. Most know by now because I've been on the scene a bit.' The Athletic hopes this recognition extends to no one sledging the one-time footballer with 23 England caps to his name and over 660 Football League appearances? 'There's a little bit, the usual cricket stuff,' Martyn says. 'The thing is, I'm someone who likes to chat back. I like to have a laugh with people, rather than keep quiet. 'Someone might say as I'm batting, 'He was all right with a football, but he can't hit a cricket ball'. So, I'll just hit straight back by replying, 'Well, you haven't got me out, so what does that say about you?'. 'It's all done with a smile on your face. Because that's what club cricket should be about. Don't get me wrong, I take my cricket seriously and am very competitive. But I do find you play any sport better if you're in a good mood. It means you're in a good place.' Promotion to the Premier League under Farke means Martyn's old club are in a good place right now. Before The Athletic bids farewell to someone once voted Leeds' all-time best goalkeeper in a supporters' poll, talk switches to the winter sport. 'It's an important season,' says the 58-year-old. 'Trying to get your feet under the table, that's what it is all about when you go up. So many clubs yo-yo these days, but it can be done. 'Staying up has to be the aim this season, make sure you're there for next season. It's down to the manager to pick the right team and the lads to put the performances in. There's more quality in the group, so now you need to go out and compete as a team.'
New York Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Sean Longstaff interview: ‘Leeds have a similar feeling to when Newcastle got taken over'
Raphinha's impact at Leeds United is still playing a part in the club's transfer business three years after his final game for the club. While the Brazilian's trajectory from Portugal and France through Elland Road to Barcelona and now Ballon d'Or contention is pointed out to compatriot Igor Paixao by fans on social media as he is linked with a move from Dutch side Feyenoord, one specific game and memory of Raphinha stands out for Sean Longstaff. Advertisement The Newcastle United academy graduate has only played at Elland Road in front of fans once. It was the night in January 2022 when he replaced an injured Joelinton before half-time, the night Jonjo Shelvey sealed a smash-and-grab away win for Eddie Howe's visitors with a 75th-minute free kick. 'One of the big things I remember from the day is, Raphinha was still there, every time he got the ball, you could feel the buzz of the whole stadium,' Longstaff tells The Athletic. 'As an away player, even if we felt OK in the game, you're subconsciously thinking, 'Are we not OK here?'. 'I just remember the whole atmosphere. I started on the bench. I remember warming up — you take in a bit more; you look around, and every time they go forward, you think they're going to score just because of the buzz of the crowd.' That's a buzz Longstaff, 27, cannot wait to experience as a home player in less than a month when Everton arrive, under the lights, for both sides' 2025-26 season opener on Monday, August 18. That Shelvey-inspired win was considered one of the foundational moments in Howe's rebuild of the club after its takeover. More than three years later, Longstaff is wearing a Leeds training kit as he speaks to The Athletic at the team's pre-season training camp in Germany. As he mulled over the Yorkshire side's advances towards him this summer, he was reminded of how those early weeks of optimism felt after Newcastle's takeover in 2021. Longstaff finished last season and went to team-mate Jacob Murphy's wedding in France in early June. Having grown up in nearby North Shields, he was still deliberating on leaving the club that had been his whole life. Then he went to visit brother Matty, a former Newcastle midfielder himself, in Toronto, where he now plays for the Canadian city's MLS side. While there, he spoke on the phone with the Leeds hierarchy about a transfer. 'It was the whole thing, really. From saying it's so similar to Newcastle in terms of it's a one-club city, the fanbases are so passionate, but it's also what they're building and then how good the squad is already — hopefully what they can add to it,' says Longstaff. Advertisement 'I've seen the videos of the (post-promotion) parade, and the plan for a new stadium. I got a lot of similar feelings to when Newcastle got taken over (in 2021). Sometimes the best time to be at a club is at the start of it all, and you can build with it, you can see the progress and hopefully all the little wins along the way.' The American side of their ownership bore fruit for Leeds, too. Longstaff's father, David, is a UK ice-hockey legend who played more than 100 times for Great Britain during a career that took him and the family around the world. His eldest son, inevitably, loves ice hockey too, but has built a love for all American sports. Larry Nance, a high-profile NBA basketball player who is in the club's ownership group, had actually crossed paths with Longstaff years before. It was an NHL hockey player, though, who properly turned the midfielder's head once the deal was signed. 'He (Nance) messaged me the other day, which was cool,' he says. 'He came to a Newcastle game when DeAndre Yedlin (the USMNT international) was still there. They knew each other. I hadn't really played much at the time, so I was a bit nervous. 'I walked past him with my head down, not knowing, whatever it was, six years later, I was going to sign for a team he's invested in. He just welcomed me and said he was really excited to have me here. 'It was really nice of him, and I remember when I signed and they showed me all the investors, there was Erik Johnson (who won the NHL title with Colorado Avalanche in 2022). My eyes were drawn to the ice hockey player who invested, and that was so cool.' Sports other than football seem to dominate our interview. There is no avoiding this summer's clip of Longstaff taking a wicket when bowling for Tynemouth Cricket Club. He's played for them since he was 11 and uses it as an escape from the world of professional football. Advertisement He has a warning for West Yorkshire cricket sides hopeful of recruiting him for their 2026 summer campaigns. 'I've played there since I was 11,' he says. 'It's always a place I can go back to and no one really looks at you and says, 'It's Sean Longstaff, the footballer'. They say, 'It's Sean Longstaff, the 11-year-old kid who's a bit of a pain sometimes'. I always tried to hide it, to be honest, but as I've got older, there are a few more people taking videos. Now it's like everyone knows it. That's not ideal. 'When I left, all the lads from the cricket club were really happy (for me). They were reminding me I've left Newcastle, but I've not left Tynemouth Cricket Club.' Moving away from home was never going to be easy for Longstaff, and nobody should have expected it to be. His football world was built around St James' Park, and making 214 appearances for his boyhood club is a feat he would have never dreamt of as a child. He says it was unexpectedly emotional departing Newcastle's training camp in Austria to complete his Leeds move. Team-mates Jamaal Lascelles and Nick Pope addressed the entire squad with leaving messages that left them unable to hold back the tears. Dan Burn, one of Longstaff's best friends in football, was another, he says, who was wiping his eyes at the back of the room. Happy as they are for Longstaff to have this new challenge with better prospects of regular minutes, they will miss him. The emotions of that send-off tie in with the mental health aspect of the game, which Longstaff has become associated with. Anyone who has read about him will be familiar with the breakdown he had in front of his father in October 2020 and the subsequent help he sought from a psychologist. It changed his life and will remain a big part of his career, even after this move to West Yorkshire. Advertisement 'It's one of those things I've tried to be open with because it's such a massive topic,' he says. 'Dan Burn was the same. I had loads of good conversations with him. 'I still speak to a psychologist pretty much every day when we're back home and even just for 20 seconds on the phone, whether it's a routine or whatever. It's the same thing with the cricket. You do it because football can be so pressurised, you sometimes need a release, to get away, do things you enjoy and that relax you. I've always found it quite therapeutic being around your friends, but also still being in a competitive environment. 'Football is very up and down. There are times when you feel amazing and times when you feel awful. It's been a massive help to me and probably something I'll do until I retire.' The links back to Newcastle will always be a cornerstone of Longstaff's career. He's even had a post-transfer message from their former manager Rafa Benitez, who congratulated him on taking the leap away from Tyneside. Leeds backup goalkeeper Karl Darlow, of course, knows both clubs very well, having made the same move in summer 2023. 'When I first heard of the interest, he was the first person I texted, and you expect a bit of a response, but I got a five-minute voice note on why I should come (laughs),' Longstaff says. 'It's weird because I remember being an 18 or 19-year-old kid at Newcastle, going into a dressing room and being so scared. 'Karl was one of the senior figures in that dressing room. I've had some amazing trips with Karl. He's watched me grow up, in a way, and gone from being a kid to becoming a dad. He said the other week, 'I didn't realise you were a dad'. I try to keep that as private as possible. 'He's someone I can rely on. It probably helps that he's so well respected within the group, because everyone speaks to him, I'm always there, so you feel a part of the conversation. He's been really good to me so far.' Advertisement Longstaff describes Darlow as a safety blanket for these opening weeks with a new club. Although manager Daniel Farke has methods of bedding all the squad's arrivals in with each other, away from cliques. While captain Ethan Ampadu, Newcastle link Darlow and everyone's best friend Alex Cairns have been fixtures of Longstaff's first week, fellow summer signing Gabriel Gudmundsson has also been someone he has spoken a lot to. The pair were placed next to each other at a meal as part of Farke's seating plan, where the German manager alternates a British player, then a foreign one, then a Brit and so on, around the tables — no cliques, no comfort zones. The all-important Farke phone call is a big step in any Leeds transfer chase. Longstaff says their chat played a big part in his final yes-or-no choice on this move. 'One of the big things when I was deciding whether to come or not. You don't want people just to tell you how good you are, and he didn't,' he says. 'He said nice things, but one of the things that struck me from the conversation was, 'I think I can improve you here, here and here'. 'Straight away, for me, it's not, 'We just want to get him here'. He's obviously had a think and thought, 'This is what I can improve', which was massive for me. 'That was one of the most impressive things. Different managers have different styles, and I really like how he's worked so far. I've really enjoyed it.' Howe and Benitez, Longstaff would say, have had the biggest impact on his senior career to date. He's hoping Farke can make the same mark on this next step in his career.
BBC News
19-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
St James' Park 'a place I will always call home'
Sean Longstaff has sent an emotional goodbye message to Newcastle, after his 118-year association with the club came to an end on 27-year-old completed a move to Leeds for £12m but has posted a video message on social clips on his journey and best moments with the Magpies, Longstaff said: "I only ever had one dream when growing up and playing on the streets and local pitches in North Shields with my little brother and that was to put on those black and white stripes and play at St James' Park for Newcastle."We can always say we done that together. Fast forward 19 years, over 200 games, 16 goals, it's my time to say goodbye."We've seen it all: from the ups, to the downs and the magical nights under the lights."To finish this journey with our first major trophy in 60 years is something that will live with me forever. "To all the players, coaches and staff- thank you. You are what makes this football club so special."And also the fans - whether it's at home or away, sunshine or rain, you have always been there cheering us on."St James' Park is a place I will always call home."
BBC News
19-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'I got a feeling they really wanted me' - Longstaff on Leeds move
Sean Longstaff says his new club Leeds is the "perfect place" for him after departing his boyhood club has agreed a four-year deal after signing for £12m plus potential add-ons. It ends an 18-year association with the Magpies, having come through the ranks at the club."I think it is just really exciting to get going It seems like a really good group," Longstaff told LUTV, external. "I have heard great things."I think there is something to be said for a team that wants you and a club that really wants you. I think from the first time I spoke to Leeds, I got a feeling that they really wanted me."It fills you full of confidence and it just makes you want to repay those people. It is a massive, massive football club similar to Newcastle in a lot of ways."It was going to take a lot for us to leave Newcastle to be honest. I wasn't just going to leave to go anywhere so it had to be the right place for me and my family and I think this is a perfect place."I got to watch pretty much all the games and saw a team that was really exciting to watch, athletic, really good on the ball."Every time I came to play at Leeds, the atmosphere was amazing. It was always bouncing and a really tough place to play."I am just looking forward to having that on my side rather than having to play against them."
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Leeds agree £17m deal for midfield partner for Sean Longstaff - just one day after landing Newcastle star as they prepare for return to Premier League
Leeds United have agreed a £17million move for Hoffeinheim midfielder Anton Stach. The 26-year-old will sign on a four-year deal to become the club's sixth signing of the summer as they return to the Premier League. Stach has spent his entire career in Germany and has represented his country at senior level twice. He spent two seasons at Mainz before joining Hoffenheim in 2023, and also featured for the German Olympic side in 2021. Leeds reportedly beat Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart to Stach's signature. The towering German is likely to be paired with Sean Longstaff in the middle of the park. The Englishman, who made 25 Premier League appearances for Newcastle last season completed a £12m move on Friday, ending an 18-year association at St James' Park. After signing for Leeds, he said: 'I think from the first time I spoke to Leeds, I got a feeling that they really wanted me. 'It just fills you full of confidence and it just makes you want to repay those people. It is a massive, massive football club - similar to Newcastle in a lot of ways. 'It was going to take a lot for me to leave Newcastle to be honest and I wasn't just going to leave to go anywhere so it had to be the right place for me and my family and I think this is a perfect place. 'Every time I came to play at Leeds the atmosphere was amazing, it was always bouncing and a really tough place to play, and [I'm] just looking forward to having that on my side rather than having to play against.' Manager Daniel Farke also has Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev and Ao Tanaka at his disposal in midfield. As well as Stach, Leeds have brought in in defenders Sebastiaan Bornauw, Jaka Bijol and Gabriel Gudmundsson alongside former Manchester City forward Lukas Nmecha since winning last season's Championship title. Leeds open their pre-season camapign with a friendly against Manchester United in Stockholm on Saturday. They return to Premier League action by hosting Everton at Elland Road on 18 August.
