Former Hatters boss reveals he tried to sign Newcastle midfielder for Luton after impressive Blackpool spell

Former Luton boss Nathan Jones has revealed he tried to sign Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff during his tenure in charge of the Hatters.

The 25-year-old has become a first team regular for the Premier League top four hopefuls and Carabao Cup semi-finalists this season, who are sitting in third place, with 26 appearances in all competitions.

It was when he was at Blackpool during the 2017-18 season, as a 19-year-old, he scored nine goals in 45 matches for the Tangerines, to catch the eye of Jones, who was then in his first spell at Town manager.

However, the move never took place and Longstaff headed back to St James’ Park where he has gone on to play a crucial role for his hometown club, playing 120 times, with six goals and named in the team to face Jones’ new side Southampton this evening in the Carabao Cup.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the two-legged tie, Jones said of his team’s opponents: "They've developed people like Longstaff who I knew.

"We tried to sign him at Luton from his loan spell at Blackpool so a real mixture of big money spent, development and also improving those who have been there.”