As the summer transfer window drew to a close last night, it became clear there would be no more Aberdeen involvement in proceedings – with last week’s loan capture of Newcastle United midfielder Matty Longstaff perhaps the Dons’ most interesting piece of business.
Longstaff’s arrival on Friday set off alarm bells – they would prove to be of the false variety – that Lewis Ferguson would be leaving Pittodrie before the deadline.
The Dons will now be moving forward in the Premiership – maybe only until January – with Longstaff, Ferguson, player-coach Scott Brown, Brighton loanee Teddy Jenks, Funso Ojo, Ross McCrorie, Dean Campbell and Dylan McGeouch on the books under the heading “central midfielders”.
Now, things aren’t as stacked in the middle of the park as they appear on paper, because it’s become clear in the early season boss Stephen Glass views McCrorie as a centre-back and has remodelled Ojo as an out-and-out attacking midfielder. Campbell, meanwhile, has been used as a back-up left-back in recent games.
But Longstaff, Ferguson, Brown, Jenks and McGeouch look like they’ll be battling in the coming months to fill two or three midfield slots.
So what is Premier League starlet Longstaff going to offer, based on his 64-minute debut in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Ross County and his 14 Premier League appearances for the Magpies?
What did Premier League talent Longstaff show for Newcastle over the past two campaigns?
It would be safe to say Longstaff’s arrival at Aberdeen for the season was relatively surprising, given he’s a player who the Red Army will know from Match of the Day, among other coverage of England’s top-flight.
He’s still young, developing and clearly in need of game time, hence the need for a loan move, but he comes with pedigree and was also linked with English second-tier sides.
Although he hasn’t turned out for Newcastle since November 6, Longstaff, 21, has made an impressive 10 Premier League starts for Steve Bruce’s St James’ Park outfit.
The most notable of these matches was the winner he scored for the Magpies at home to Manchester United on October 6 2019, which won Premier League ‘Goal of the Month’:
Longstaff has only scored two league goals for Newcastle, with his second also coming against the Red Devils on Boxing Day that same year.
Asked what we can learn about his game from his performances for Newcastle, former Evening Express journalist and Newcastle United fan Sean Douglass told our Northern Goal podcast: “He is a genuine box-to-box player.
“He’s not afraid of a challenge, but in the times he has played for Newcastle, he’s not been afraid to get forward, move the ball around and break into the box late or – as everyone saw from the (first) Man United game – take a shot from the edge of the box.”
Sean’s assessment of Longstaff’s energy and willingness to use the ball is something which is evident from his Opta stats.
The figures below show a midfielder who has averaged more than 30 successful passes per 90 minutes in the English top-flight.
His overall passing accuracy has been 81.2%, despite Longstaff showing no fear in playing the ball forward (102 forward passes in total) or going long (an option he’s taken 32 times).
The picture the stats above paint is one of a tidy ball-playing central midfielder, who doesn’t commit a lot of fouls and reads the game well to make interceptions.
Meanwhile, the graphic below – his touch map for his Premier League appearances – reflects Sean’s assessment of Longstaff’s box-to-box qualities:
He’s gone everywhere during those 949 minutes of Premier League action.
Opta stats on Longstaff’s shooting also show, while he will have a pop at goal, he does it sparingly and to good effect.
Longstaff’s two Premier League goals have come despite him taking just four shots for Newcastle.
From an expected goals (xG) rating of just 0.3 for those four efforts, he has netted twice. It’s a significant overperformance which reflects a player who is discerning in choosing when to shoot and clinical when he does.
It’s worth noting, one of the other shots in the graphic below also came against Manchester United at St James’ Park – and cracked off the crossbar:
How will Aberdeen boss Glass use Longstaff?
With Ferguson and Brown in the “if available, they start” category during Glass’ tenure in the Dons dugout so far, it will be interesting to see how Longstaff is used this season.
Considering he is on loan from a Premier League club, and there was also English Championship interest in him, you’d imagine Newcastle, Longstaff, Glass and the Red Army all see him as a starter, too.
He isn’t up to speed yet, given his lack of recent game time for the Magpies – he fell out of their team in part due to a contract wrangle – but perhaps the draw with County on Sunday gives us an idea of where Longstaff will play.
Both Ferguson (right) and Longstaff (left) started off Brown in a central midfield three.
Over the course of the game, Longstaff’s average position was bang on halfway, where he mostly passed to and received the ball from left-back Dean Campbell – who sent four crosses into the Staggies box during the clash.
As you’ll see below, Brown was deeper, performing his usual role of screening centre-backs Declan Gallagher and McCrorie, while Ferguson pushed on with Christian Ramirez, Wolves loanee Austin Samuels and Ojo in the attacking positions:
So perhaps Glass views Longstaff as an energetic middle man patrolling the middle of the park, getting the Dons playing and winning the ball when required?
Longstaff only made one tackle and gained possession twice in his 64 minutes of Reds action – but the team did have 75% of the ball and most of the territory in the game – meaning there was less need for this side of the game.
This isn’t to say he didn’t contribute in attack. Early doors, he sidestepped two County defenders in the area, before turning a clipping a wonderful ball on to Samuels’ head, while he also showed his shooting ability when forcing Ross Laidlaw to save from range in the second period.
Evening Express chief football writer Sean Wallace told our Northern Goal podcast how impressed he was by Longstaff’s composure on the ball, and this is again reflected in the stats.
Longstaff completed 43 passes – with a passing accuracy of 93.5%, rising to a near-flawless 95.8% in the Ross County half.
The only blot of Longstaff’s Aberdeen record so far is he could’ve got closer to Ross Callachan in the build-up to Ross County’s goal.
As far as the player is concerned he seems to be happy to play any midfield role Glass asks him to this season, provided he’s playing: “I’m always here to help the team with my legs in midfield. Hopefully I can get on the ball and help the team.
“Whatever the manager asks I’ll be happy to do. Whether that’s playing a little further back and getting on the ball, or whether it’s breaking into boxes and scoring goals, I’m happy to do either.
“We had a conversation yesterday where he said we always look to dominate the ball, which was a big thing. Like he said, if I can chip in with a few goals it’s going to be great, so I’m looking forward to it.”
A fully-match-fit Longstaff certainly has the quality to be an influential player for Aberdeen this season, whether he’s told to hold back or be more attacking, and it will be fascinating to see how he brings his Premier League midfield pedigree to bear for the Dons in the months ahead.
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