David Ornstein: Leeds 'Reach Agreement' to Land 'Lovely' Star as Next Signing

Leeds United have taken one step closer towards signing Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff, according to reports - with the Whites having 'reached an agreement in principle' with the north-east club to take their homegrown star from their ranks.

Leeds have already signed a number of players, with Jaka Bijol from Udinese and Lukas Nmecha from Wolfsburg being two of their biggest signings to date. But owners, 49ers Enterprises, are keen to ensure that they remain in the top-flight and look set to splash the cash on Longstaff, who has been a Premier League stalwart for Newcastle for almost a decade at his hometown club.

David Ornstein: Leeds 'Reach Agreement in Principle' With Newcastle for Longstaff

The midfielder could shortly be on his way to Elland Road

The report by David Ornstein on X (formerly Twitter) states that Leeds have reached an 'agreement in principle' with Newcastle to sign Longstaff, with the 'lovely' 27-year-old, as he was called by boss Eddie Howe, having entered the final 12 months of his Magpies contract.

There were no issues in finalising a deal, and Longstaff is seen as a 'major recruit' for Daniel Farke's side ahead of their Premier League return, having secured promotion from the Championship last season.

Ornstein further reports in The Athletic that Leeds had bid £10million plus an extra £2million in add-ons for Longstaff, their third proposal for the midfielder - and that was close to the limit that Leeds were prepared to pay for him, with other candidates cropping up on their radar if a move couldn't be completed for his services. But the figure, according to Ornstein, is now £12million plus an extra £3million in add-ons.

Personal terms are already in place, and although talks over a new deal took place in the winter, he hasn't played much for the Magpies in that time, only registering 76 minutes of Premier League football since, owing to the success of Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali in midfield.

Longstaff is thought to have wanted his boyhood club to be compensated for his talents, rather than seeing him depart for free next summer, and that only came about thanks to a one-year extension in his deal that was activated last summer. With 171 Premier League appearances, his top-flight experience is appealing to newly-promoted Leeds, having been used as a box-to-box midfielder over the past seven years.

Longstaff has made 214 appearances for the Toon, including five Champions League appearances and a goal against Paris Saint-Germain to boot, after making his Newcastle bow in August 2018.

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 15-07-25.

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