The 21-year-old – a graduate of the club’s Little Benton Academy – replaced Brazilian wide-man Kenedy with just less than 20 minutes remaining, coming on for only his second appearance for the Magpies at first-team level.
His first came in August’s 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, in which the former Blackpool and Kilmarnock loanee played all 90 minutes as the Magpies exited the competition.
That occasion – though memorable in its own right – was somewhat different to his cameo at Anfield, however, and despite the disappointing scoreline – a 4-0 reverse against Jürgen Klopp’s Reds – Longstaff was understandably elated at having made his top-flight bow.
“To be able to make your Premier League debut for Newcastle, in a game you’ve always wanted to play in, in one of the biggest stadiums in the world and one of the most iconic is unbelievable,” he told nufc.co.uk. “I think if you asked anyone where they’d want to make their Premier League debut, they’d say either their home club or probably an Anfield or Old Trafford.
“I was saying to Murph (Jacob Murphy) before, what a difference a year makes. Last Boxing Day, I was playing (for Blackpool) at home to Scunthorpe in front of a few thousand people, so it’s a bit different! It happened quite suddenly – the manager said: ‘Sean, come here.’ And then your stomach drops a little bit. He had a quiet word and said: ‘Have you ever played in the Premier League before?’ He was just trying to calm my nerves, and obviously I can’t thank him enough for giving me the opportunity. It’s something I’ve dreamt of since I was a young kid, and to hear the away fans chanting my name is unbelievable. I’m a bit lost for words, really. It’s a great day for me and my family and a dream come true, but it’s a little bit dampened by the result.”
With Ki Sung-yueng off to the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates with South Korea and Jonjo Shelvey still nursing an injury, a further taste of Premier League action could yet come quickly for Longstaff.
The Magpies travel to Watford on Saturday before welcoming Manchester United to St. James’ Park four days later, and the midfielder is hopeful of adding to his playing time as Rafa Benítez’s side look to respond to their Boxing Day hammering.
“We started the game really well – we had a couple of chances to start off with but the goal sort of killed our momentum a little bit. It was a pretty even first half and we could easily have gone in level or even a goal up,” he said. “The penalty just after half time killed it a little bit but we’ve got to do a better job of staying in it – if we score and make it 2-1, there’s still a bit of time left and you never know what can happen in a game. We’ve got to do a better job of staying in the game and not letting teams run away with it.
“You need to start somewhere so for me it’s about not resting on your laurels, pushing on, working even harder and learning more and more every day, as I have been doing to try and get more minutes, and hopefully – maybe – get a start in the future.”
