Who should Rafa Benitez start alongside Sean Longstaff?

Sean Longstaff has solidified his role as a regular starter, but who should Rafa Benitez play alongside him going forward?

The coaching staff at Newcastle United knew Sean Longstaff had tons of potential as a player, but I think it is fair to say that supporters did not expect him to be such a quality player. Longstaff made his Premier League debut for the Magpies on December 26th against Liverpool at Anfield, and his good run of form has enabled him to become a regular starter for Newcastle.

Another reason why Longstaff has played so many minutes is because of injuries and other player absences, but now Newcastle’s central midfielders are all recovered and ready for action. That being said, who should start alongside Longstaff in the middle of the park for the remainder of the season?

Jonjo Shelvey

Jonjo Shelvey is undoubtedly Newcastle’s best central midfielder as a result of his unmatched passing abilities. Shelvey is known for setting his teammates up with good long and short ball passes, but the problem is fitness. The mercurial midfielder has missed several games this season, months at a time, and because of this I cannot see him being anything more than a primary substitute who might get two or three starts going forward.

Mohamed Diame

Mohamed Diame is an interesting player because his work ethic earns him playing time over his actual skills. Diame is a defensive-minded midfielder who wins the ball back for his team to build a counter-attack of their own. I can definitely see Diame making his way into the starting lineup a few more times this season, but Isaac Hayden’s good form might keep Diame on the bench for more matches than he would like.

Isaac Hayden

Isaac Hayden has had an up-and-down season after putting in two transfer requests in July and January, but over the last few weeks he has been a reliable starter. Seeing his name on the team sheet makes fans nervous because he does not want to be on Tyneside.

However, he has been a true professional and this has been displayed with his urgency on both sides of the ball. He now has plenty of competition for minutes, but he is ahead of Shelvey and Diame in the pecking order.

Ki Sung-yueng

Last, but certainly not least, we have Ki Sung-yueng. The South Korean international left the club in January to play in the Asian Cup tournament with his national team, but he came back due to a knock he picked up a few weeks ago. Prior to his departure, Ki was stellar for Newcastle and he showed that he can fill Shelvey’s void with great ball distribution in the middle. Ki is now fully recovered and my assumption would be that he will be Rafa Benitez’s top option to start with Longstaff for most of the matches to close out this season.