Matty Longstaff
Personal information
Full name Matthew Ben Longstaff[1]
Date of birth (2000-03-21) 21 March 2000 (age 23)[2]
Place of birth Rotherham, England
Position(s) Midfielder[3]
Team information
Current team
 Toronto FC
Number 8
Youth career
0000–2019 Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2023 Newcastle United 14 (2)
2021 → Aberdeen (loan) 5 (0)
2022 → Mansfield Town (loan) 16 (6)
2022–2023 → Colchester United (loan) 7 (0)
2024– Toronto FC 1 (0)
International career
2019 England U20 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 March 2024

Matthew Ben Longstaff (born 21 March 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC.

Club career

Newcastle United

Longstaff made his first-team debut for Newcastle United on 28 August 2019, starting against Leicester City in the EFL Cup.[4] He scored in the 72nd minute of his Premier League debut, in a 1–0 win against Manchester United on 6 October.[5][6] The stunning strike outside the box was later voted as Premier League Goal of the Month.[7] He then went on to score in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford, the opening goal in a 4–1 defeat.[8]

Following the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2019–20 season, Longstaff signed a new two-year contract with Newcastle United on 22 August 2020.[9] In announcing their retained list for the 2023/24 season, Newcastle United released Longstaff at the end of his current contract. However, the club will continue to ensure he receives treatment on his anterior cruciate ligament injury, which Longstaff suffered in December 2022.[10]

Aberdeen (loan)

On 27 August 2021, Longstaff joined Scottish club Aberdeen on a season-long loan.[11]

On 26 December 2021, Longstaff was recalled early by his parent club Newcastle United, having only featured five times for Aberdeen.[12]

Mansfield Town (loan)

On 31 January 2022, Longstaff joined EFL League Two side Mansfield Town on loan for the remainder of the season.[13]

Colchester United (loan)

On 1 September 2022, Longstaff joined EFL League Two side Colchester United on a short-term loan. He returned to Newcastle on 1 January 2023 following a knee injury.[14]

Toronto FC

On 29 February 2024, Major League Soccer club Toronto FC announced the signing of Longstaff as a free agent on a two-year contract, with an option for an additional year.[15]

International career

On 8 November 2019, Longstaff received his first international call up to the England U20 side.[16] He made his debut as a substitute during a 4–0 win over Portugal on 14 November 2019.[17]

Personal life

Longstaff was born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire[18] and raised in North Shields, Tyne and Wear.[19] Longstaff went to school at John Spence Community High School. Longstaff was a boyhood Newcastle United supporter and his older brother Sean is a footballer for Newcastle United.[19] Their father David is a former Great Britain ice hockey player, who featured over 100 times for the national side, and is still active as coach for the Whitley Warriors.[20] David is the cousin of former England international Alan Thompson.[21] They are not related to former Newcastle academy player Luis Longstaff.[22]

Career statistics

As of match played 9 March 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Newcastle United U23 2018–19[23] — — — 5[a] 1 5 1
Newcastle United 2019–20[24] Premier League 9 2 5 1 1 0 — 15 3
2020–21[25] Premier League 5 0 0 0 0 0 — 5 0
2021–22[26] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2022–23[27] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 14 2 5 1 1 0 0 0 20 3
Aberdeen (loan) 2021–22[26] Scottish Premiership 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Mansfield Town (loan) 2021–22[26] League Two 16 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 6
Colchester United (loan) 2022–23[27] League Two 7 0 0 0 0 0 3[a] 0 10 0
Toronto FC 2024 Major League Soccer 1 0 0 0 — 0 0 1 0
Career total 43 8 5 1 1 0 8 1 57 10
  1. ^ a b Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ "2019/20 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Matthew Longstaff: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  3. ^ "M. Longstaff: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Newcastle United v Leicester City". BBC Sport. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Newcastle 1–0 Man Utd: Matty Longstaff scores winner on debut". BBC Sport. 6 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Matty Longstaff: A day to remember for the Newcastle midfielder". BBC Sport. 6 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Longstaff claims Budweiser Goal of the Month for October 2019". Premierleague.com. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Manchester United 4–1 Newcastle United: Anthony Martial stars in thumping win". 26 December 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Matty Longstaff signs new contract with the Magpies". Newcastle United FC. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Magpies confirm retained list for 2023/24 season". Nufc.co.uk. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  11. ^ "MATTY LONGSTAFF JOINS THE DONS". Aberdeen FC. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  12. ^ Third, Paul (26 December 2021). "Aberdeen midfielder Matty Longstaff recalled by Newcastle". pressandjournal.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Stags land Newcastle midfielder". Mansfield Town F.C. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Longstaff returns to Tyneside following knee injury". Newcastle United F.C. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Toronto FC acquire Midfielder Matty Longstaff". Toronto FC. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  16. ^ "KEITH DOWNING PICKS HIS SQUAD FOR GAMES IN PORTUGAL AND WITH ICELAND IN WYCOMBE". TheFA.com. 8 November 2019.
  17. ^ "A FOUR-STAR PERFORMANCE FROM THE YOUNG LIONS SAW THEM PICK UP VICTORY IN PORTUGAL". TheFA.com. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Matty Longstaff". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  19. ^ a b Taylor, Louise (17 October 2019). "Sean and Matty Longstaff: 'Knowing your brother has got your back is special'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  20. ^ "Newcastle United – Matthew Longstaff". Newcastle United F.C. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  21. ^ "Newcastle's Sean Longstaff: the new Carrick with added ice in his veins". The Guardian. London. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  22. ^ Meet the Academy: Luis Longstaff, Steve Hunter, Liverpool FC, 8 May 2020
  23. ^ "Games played by Matty Longstaff in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Games played by Matty Longstaff in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  25. ^ "Games played by Matty Longstaff in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  26. ^ a b c "Games played by Matty Longstaff in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  27. ^ a b "Games played by Matty Longstaff in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  28. ^ "Longstaff claims Budweiser Goal of the Month". Premier League. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
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