Steve Bruce keen to shield Longstaff brothers from limelight | OneFootball

The footballing public is beginning to sit up and take notice of Newcastle’s sibling midfield duo.

Sean Longstaff had already broken into the side under Rafael Benítez and was linked with a Manchester United move on the strength of his displays.

His brother Matty took advantage of a clash against that same opposition a few weeks ago to bag the winner and announce his own arrival.

The pair started together again at the heart of the action against Chelsea on Saturday and despite the defeat, impressed against seasoned internationals.

It has understandably led to their manager being keen to shield the pair from all of the attention.

“They’re young, and for any player who is young, you do go up and down a little bit,” Bruce said when quizzed about the duo by the national media.

“It’s our job to protect them a little bit.

“They’ve had an unbelievable couple of weeks, especially the young one.

“It’s good to see. There were some very good young players on the pitch against Chelsea and they were two of them.”

The brothers completed more passes than their compatriots Mason Mount and Ross Barkley (who exited prematurely) over the course of the contest.