After finishing his recovery with Newcastle United, the midfield player relocated to America.
Matty Longstaff, who was released by Newcastle United eight months ago, has agreed to a two-year contract with MLS team FC Toronto.
Although the 23-year-old’s departure from St James’ Park was announced in June, he continued to train at the team’s Benton facility in the months that followed in order to fully recuperate from an ACL injury he had incurred on Boxing Day 2022 while on loan at League Two team Colchester United.
When discussing his recovery in December, Longstaff told NewcastleWorld, “I came on for the last ten minutes of a game, tried to turn, and I just felt a pop.” I knew I had completed my ACL as soon as I heard it pop. I mentioned on the bench that I could tell it was serious because they had a boy who had the same injury in the first half, but I had no idea that would happen to me seventy minutes later.
“The most significant lesson you acquire in football is that 70 or 80 percent of the game is mental. It’s probably aspects that people don’t observe because they show up on matchday and assess you based on the 90 minutes. But, as a player, you go through everything in training, preparing properly, and dealing with the ups and downs.
Having successfully recovered to full fitness, Longstaff has now made the transition across the Atlantic, signing a two-year contract until 2025 with an option for 2026.
“I can’t express enough gratitude to Newcastle for what they’ve done,” Longstaff mentioned earlier. “They’ve provided everything I needed, and I’ve worked closely with physio Alex throughout. She’s been incredible, and I feel fortunate for the way the manager and Dan Ashworth have handled my situation.”