Eddie Howe agrees this Newcastle United star put his best performance to date vs Aston Villa

The Newcastle United star played his best game since Eddie Howe arrived as head coach.
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Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe believes Sean Longstaff’s performance against Aston Villa was the best he’s played under his management.

The Geordie midfielder, who put pen to paper on a new three-year contract in May, is enjoying a run of games in Howe’s starting XI. Longstaff has started six consecutive matches and appeared in every Premier League game so far this season.

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At home to Villa, Longstaff, who is celebrating his 25th birthday today, put in a tireless display and linked up superbly with Kieran Trippier and Miguel Almiron down the right-hand side from his central midfield position.

Howe, asked if that was Longstaff’s best performance under him, said: “I’d agree with that. I was saying that towards the end of the game. As always, Sean is tireless with his energy and covers a lot of ground. If you look at him statistically for us, he’s a huge player in terms of our intensity and out-of-possession play that we want.

Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff.  (Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff.  (Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)
Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff. (Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)

“I think a lot of the good work he does sometimes goes unnoticed. Today, it probably didn’t because he had a real effect with the ball in both halves. I’d agree, I thought it was a great game for Sean.”

Longstaff is one of several players to improve since Howe arrived in November last year. Joelinton was last season’s big transformation story and now it’s Miguel Almiron’s turn after he netted his seventh goal of the campaign in the victory over Villa. The likes of Fabian Schar also shouldn’t go unnoticed.

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“It’s my job,” Howe said. “To create a winning team is obviously number one. There are lots of aspects to management but improving players is something I take great pride and passion in. I love to be on the training pitch with the players and that’s very much my style.

“Ultimately, you need a player that is receptive to that. If you have players that don’t want to be improved or don’t want to be coached or don’t want to listen, you’re not going to make an impact at all.”