Newcastle United rarely do things the easy way these days, and getting players "over the line" and signing contracts seems to be laborious to say the least. After Steve Bruce's first few games in charge, we were told contract offers were on the table for the key players in our squad. The likes of Isaac Hayden, Matt Ritchie, Jonjo Shelvey, Fabian Schar, and Martin Dubravka all were reportedly offered extensions at the club, but so far only Dubravka has put pen to paper on a new deal.
Since then, we've had the emergence of Matty Longstaff, and no sooner as he was banging in the winner against Manchester United at the Gallowgate end, the fact emerged that this new ray of hope from our under-funded academy, was out of contract this very summer! In the weeks following the home win against the Red Devils, we were told contract negotiations were beginning with Matty. Big brother Sean, was also keen to sign another new deal at the club to warn off the likes of Manchester United who were sniffing around, trying to unsettle the midfielder earlier in the summer. But this was swiftly denied by the club, telling Sean to concentrate on finding his form back on the pitch.
It is now getting towards mid-January, and the likes of Matty Longstaff, along with Federico Fernandez and the resurgent Javier Manquillo can all begin contract negotiations with foreign clubs, with no permission needed from Newcastle. Surely this is the kind of business that needed to be sorted long before a January transfer window, allowing much needed focus on bringing in reinforcements?
So as ever we are left wondering, just what is Lee Charnley doing? I fully appreciate that transfers and contracts are increasingly more complicated these days, with agents and third parties etc all wanting a slice of the pie. And hopefully my concern for the situation is severely misplaced, and we'll hear news on players putting their signatures on contracts soon. But what a tragedy it would be to lose the Matty Longstaff for a measly £600,000 compensation, when he could be the future of our beloved black and whites.
After a typically torturous run of results around Christmas and New Year, Newcastle are in need of a lift. The fixtures aren't getting any easier with tomorrows trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, so it could well be the case that its another game in which the toon army leave empty handed. So the next best thing to give everyone a lift, is to see players committing to Newcastle United, especially as the usual annual rumblings of a takeover have naturally faded away. Whether it be new players signing, or current players extending their stay, the fans need something to cheer about after a tough few weeks.
I'm sure you'd all agree, what we need to see this month is two or three new signings including a striker, Matty Longstaff's long term future being secured, Jetro Willems deal being made permanent, and our main stars signing contract extensions. Least not of course, three points on Saturday!