About two years back, Sean Longstaff was the name on every Manchester United fan's lips.
And why not? He was linked with a blockbuster move to Old Trafford and valued at a whopping £50 million.
A central midfielder by trade, the Newcastle United player was believed to be the answer to our prayers in the middle of the park. In fact, top sources had reported that the deal was very, very close - only for it to unravel in the end.
Sean never joined us but what has he been up to? Let's take a look.
Unfortunately, the 23-year-old career graph has somewhat stagnated and some may even claim his performances have dipped.
Last season, he made 22 league appearances for the Magpies but none of his performances were remarkable enough to get people talking.
And with the plethora of young talents coming through, it appears people somewhat forgot about the once highly-rated youngster.
Last year, Longstaff signed up with super agent Pini Zahavi in the hopes to broker a deal away from Newcastle but there were no takers.
As a result, he's now part of the club's pre-season training campaign with his contract set to expire in June 2022.
So, where did it go wrong for Sean? Let's take a look at what Newcastle fans have to say (via Reddit):
deputy_Ntr: "He’s not that good... he can go for the bench route if he wants. He’s a bench player with us so not really a change of scenery for him lol."
moonshiver: "Sean requires partnerships in midfield, which takes tactical knowledge to setup. We’re missing both the players and the coach to make use of them. Bruce really has no clue + they both have big holes in their game."
Jackski: "He looked great under Rafa but has been awful under Bruce. I guess it shows you how a good manager knows how to utilise his players. If he wants to go then let him. I used to love a homegrown player but now they try to abuse it to get more wages than they're worth."
ImpatientSquirrel: "I know I'm gonna get flack for this, but Longstaff was never that great. He just got hyped up because he's a local lad."
Adriiiian: "Everytime we play a team who plays high pressing football he struggles. He’s a player who likes having time on the ball."
