What would signing Sean Longstaff bring to Everton midfield

As stories emerge that Everton have made a £1 million bid for Newcastle United’s Sean Longstaff, what might the midfielder bring to the Blues’ engine room?

According to several reports, it appears that Everton have made a move for the 24-year old after constant media speculation that the Toffees’ were keen on signing him.

Obviously, he’s a player Rafa Benitez knows well and that strong relationship is a key reason why all these rumours of a transfer to Merseyside are circulating.

Now, it looks as though a concrete bid has been tabled for the midfielder, but one which has been rejected by the Magpies’.

As I’ve said before, I’m not sure that Longstaff is the right option for Everton to be honest but it seems pretty clear Benitez is determined to get him so let’s look at the player, what he might bring, and how he could impact this Blues’ team.

Well, looking at his recent stats on Whoscored.com. he is best suited to a central midfield position perhaps as a defensive lynchpin-type player.

Longstaff is a strong ball-winner and likes to pass forward and positively, which is good to see and certainly what the Toffees’ need more of from midfield. However, over the past four seasons he managed very few crosses and under one ‘key pass’ a game although that is a statistic open to interpretation and one that is not necessarily always crucial.

In addition, the Newcastle player doesn’t get many goals or assists, only managing at best one of each in the last four campaigns.

To be fair to him though, he is a midfielder and hasn’t played that many matches in those campaigns, often coming off the bench too so making it more difficult for him to impact games.

Overall then, he is a player who would be likely asked to sit in Everton’s centre and provide a defensive screen and anchor the midfield alongside Allan or maybe Andre Gomes.

Such a formation would allow Abdoulaye Doucoure to get forward much more and contribute the sort of performances, goals and assists he was producing earlier this season before his recent injury.

This is something that to be fair to him Benitez has encouraged the powerful midfielder to do and it did and could have again, a strongly benefical impact on this Toffees’ team.

The holding or number six role is one that both Allan and Tom Davies in the current squad have done before now with mixed results. Brazilian Allan has been very average at best most of this season and had a particularly poor game last time out against Brighton.

I also think he was probably always better suited to a more advanced midfield position and doesn’t thrive playing in a two-man midfield. Unfortunately he seems a little past his best to me now and I doubt he will recapture the sort of form he showed at times under Carlo Ancelotti.

Meanwhile Davies has been in and out of the side and has never properly convinced that he is good or consistent enough for the Premier League.

Of course there was a rumour last summer that Davies might be going to Newcastle before their takeover allowed them to aim their sights at better and more high-profile talent.

Presumably, this initial offer from Everton for Longstaff was a sighting shot and the club will go back with another bid, if their interest is strong enough.

But, getting this deal over the line might be complicated, because while the Magpies’ apparently want Lucas Digne, I don’t think they’re offering enough even if Longstaff was included and the Frenchman would almost certainly prefer a move to London and Chelsea if he leaves this month.

With news that Jean-Philippe Gbamin is to be allowed to depart the club and the lack of outstanding alternatives to Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure, the Blues’ will obviously need another body in the centre of midfield, especially if Gbamin does depart.

The others who could do this holding job are Davies who along with his inconsistency has also had an injury lately and Fabian Delph who’s ageing, injury-prone, has never shown much consistency either and whose contract runs out in the summer.

So, this is why Benitez is so keen on a move for a defensive midfielder he knows and presumably believes can do a job at Goodison Park. But, if Longstaff proves too difficult a deal to conclude then they will need to look elsewhere and fairly soon as the month moves on.