Newcastle United's 2023/24 Champions League campaign is up and running and only an alien landing in the city from a faraway planet would have a plausible excuse for not knowing about it. It is being lapped up by supporters at home and abroad. "You see the videos of them by the canal in Milan," says Sean Longstaff, a fan himself performing a slightly different role to those sliding topless along the streets in the rain last week. "My old man was there and he said he absolutely loved it – he enjoyed it so it must have been a good trip! It's been amazing, and we're happy to be here. But we're also looking to progress."
The basic sporting principle of existing to compete is threaded through the new version of Newcastle United shaped by Eddie Howe and so occasions like AC Milan away – a goalless draw at San Siro from which Longstaff felt the Magpies took plenty of encouragement – cannot be viewed solely as nice days out. The reality of their new standing among the continent's elite was apparent in the speed with which they had to move on from their Italian job.
"Even looking at the fixtures it comes and goes quite fast. You've been waiting so long for it and then suddenly it goes over in a flash," he explains. "It sort of felt like that in Milan – the excitement was building the day before, when we were getting ready to get on the plane, and then all of a sudden we were back in Newcastle and that's one matchday done.
"It goes so fast so for us, it's about taking everything in. We're happy to be there, but also we know we're more than good enough to play against these teams and cause them problems."
Longstaff is 25 now, one of a handful of beating hearts in this driven, relentless Newcastle team, but he is too young to remember the club's last foray into the Champions League. His first memory of the competition was watching Wayne Rooney score a hat-trick against Fenerbahce on his Manchester United debut in 2004. He was almost seven then and his father David was playing ice hockey not far from Old Trafford that night.
It is time to make new memories. He feels Howe's side deserve to be occupying their perch, and that it is possible to be grateful for the position they are in without feeling like it is down to some sort of lottery win or stroke of fortune. "Obviously the new owners have got those aspirations as well, as to that's where we want to be on a consistent basis. I feel as though you don't bring in the type of players we've brought in if that's not the levels we're fighting to be at all the time. We know it's obviously tough – there's a lot of other good teams around – but I think over time, and with doing the right things over time, we've put ourselves in a strong position to be successful."
Now it is about "setting a standard" over a longer period, he adds. "It's about letting other teams know they're not just playing against Newcastle, who've been great for a season – it's about putting in performances and picking up results and showing we can be at that level."
Before the draw at San Siro, Longstaff and goalkeeper Mark Gillespie spoke about that 2002 win at Feyenoord, reminiscing about Craig Bellamy's last-gasp winner and Jon Champion's iconic commentary. Excitement reigned then too and it is not unreasonable to think that the barren stretch that has been endured since and the sheer fervour surrounding the club post-takeover could make Wednesday's game a kind of 'were you there?' moment. "I think they'll probably be in for a shock in terms of the atmosphere," Longstaff says of Paris Saint-Germain. "I don't think they'll expect it to be as good as it is or as loud as it will be. We've got to do a job of keeping them (the fans) in the game and probably got to be a little bit better with the ball, especially going forward, against them, rather than as we were against Milan.
"But it's a team full of superstars – you've watched them a million times on the telly. To be going up against them is going to be really special. (Kylian) Mbappé is probably for some people the best player in the world – he's without a doubt in the top two or three players in the world, so to have him come to St. James' is unbelievable.
"It's not just him – they've got quality right throughout the team, with World Cup winners and whatever else. It will be a great experience to play against them and test ourselves, but we've got a lot of confidence from Milan and then backed it up with two wins. It's about going into the game full of belief and with the crowd behind us we know anything can happen, especially at home. It's one we're really, really excited for and we'll give them a really good game."
At the time of writing, Longstaff has started three games this term and Newcastle have not lost any of them. They have won two – Brentford and Sheffield United – with the midfielder netting the opener in the 8-0 demolition of the Blades (he missed the Carabao Cup win over Manchester City a week ago). He is modest about his own output. "I'm playing next to some really, really good players who make the game really easy for me. You get lucky in a way – you come in, you win a couple of games and everyone thinks you're great, don’t they?" he laughs. "It's just the way football goes.
"I think I made a really big step last year in terms of my career, and in showing I can be an important part a top side. I think the hardest part is sustaining that, because you know there's going to be competition coming in. I love every second of playing. I never take for granted the position I'm in. If I'm not playing then I'm always there to support the lads that are playing."
It is clear that he is appreciated now, if he wasn't quite as much before. When he missed four games during last season’s run-in with injury his ceaseless running and value to Howe's all-action 11 was obvious in his absence. "It sounds funny but I think people probably appreciate us more when I'm not there, I would say, if that makes any sense. It's nice to have the appreciation of people and hopefully change a couple of people's opinions along the way. But it's something I don't really focus on massively – I just focus on me. If I think I've played well, I listen to the manager and the other lads and my family and if they're happy, that'll do for me. Everyone else's opinion is their opinion and it is what it is.
"It's not the prettiest job I've got – it doesn't always look great, but I feel as though I'm always there to cover for people and to help us be as solid as possible. But I think I'm also getting better on the ball. I always feel like I've been pretty good on it, but obviously when you're playing next to some top players, people's perceptions of you might be slightly different. It's a great team to play in and I love every second of it."
His is an understated kind of influence, in a supporting cast-type role he has honed and shaped to fit over the years, and it is valued by his teammates too. There is a tangible togetherness in the United squad that comes out in myriad ways. In a behind-the-scenes video posted on the club's social media accounts Longstaff was seen meowing as he re-entered the dressing room after running riot at Bramall Lane. There is surely an explanation for such behaviour. He chuckles.
"To be fair I think it's a couple of reasons," he begins. "It actually just worked out like… so because Popey (Nick Pope)'s a cat… another word for a goalkeeper is a cat, but he prefers 'kitten' to 'cat'. He got a clean sheet, so we were meowing at him.
"And then obviously with my cat, Tommy, it just sort of falls into place – it was my cat's first birthday on Monday, the day after, so I was telling the lads that it was his birthday and they were laughing at me. It's a weird sort of thing that we do but it keeps the mood quite light. It's quite funny. When you win 8-0, no matter what you do, people are going to find it funny. We actually do it more than people think, which is probably the worrying thing…"
While we are addressing such important matters, what was written on the piece of paper Longstaff was handed by the bench in that victory in Sheffield? "Just a little change of shape. I think when you get to that point you can try and sort of experiment with little things. It was nothing as exciting as some of the memes and stuff that people have made."
More serious interrogations, at the hands of Europe's best teams, await. There was a moment at San Siro right at the end where, after halting a Milan break, Longstaff almost won it. "I remember panicking, actually, when their lad picked up the ball. I thought, 'if he runs past us here…' So I just remember making a panicked tackle. Luckily I got the ball and then sort of broke forward.
"I remember Ell (Elliot Anderson) giving us it, and in my head I was just thinking, 'touch and shoot'. Looking back, Tripps (Kieran Trippier) was sort of free on the right-hand side, but I think if I didn't shoot I'd have gone to bed that night thinking, 'why didn't you shoot? Why didn't you shoot?!'
"I was in a good position, I probably should have scored, but the keeper made a pretty good save. To be in that moment…," he pauses. "I was sat on the floor, and looked up, and you could see the Newcastle fans right at the very top. I just thought, 'this is unbelievable'. This is where you want to be."
