According to Sky Sports, Serie A side Udinese have offered Matty Longstaff a lucrative contract ahead of potentially signing him this summer.

What's the word?

The Newcastle starlet's future has been up in the air all season, with reports claiming that he had turned down a £15k-a-week offer from the Magpies earlier in the campaign.

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Now, Sky Sports have revealed that the 20-year-old has been offered a five-year deal by Udinese, and that it is "around double the amount of salary offered by the Magpies, along with a bumper signing-on fee".

The report adds however that whilst Longstaff is "desperate to stay at boyhood club Newcastle", the offer from the Italian side has left him with a decision to make, with the Tyneside club only standing to make around £400k in compensation due to his age.

The future

As Newcastle look set to head into a new era once this takeover finally goes through, keeping hold of players who are homegrown and represent the Toon Army faithful is what will keep the connection between the club and the fans.

New big-money signings are all well and good, but it's players like Matty and Sean Longstaff who will truly understand what it is to play for Newcastle, and keeping hold of that spirit will be vital.

Even putting aside the absolute pittance that they would get for Longstaff if he leaves on a free this summer, it's more about the statement that it would send out that 'one of their own' is left to walk away.

The Saudi consortium would kick-start their Magpies revolution with a massive kick in the teeth, and rather than getting started on the right foot, they will be left to pick up the pieces of one of the club's hometown heroes leaving through the exit door.