IF there was a reluctance on Rafa Benitez’s part to hand Sean Longstaff a chance, then the locally produced midfielder has done what he can to prove his time is now.

The 21-year-old’s performances since appearing at Anfield on Boxing Day have been of a high standard and, even if Newcastle’s list of midfield absentees improved, he would be deserving to keep his place.

Ahead of a FA Cup fourth round tie against Watford today, Longstaff will be the young gun that keep his place in the starting line-up. Benitez has already confirmed Jamie Sterry and Callum Roberts – two others to have played in the previous round at Blackburn – will not.

That in itself is a sign of the progress Longstaff has made and his manager is appreciative of what he has delivered so far in the absence of Jonjo Shelvey, Ki Sung-yeung and Mo Diame.

Benitez said: “Sean is doing well. He was on loan last season, which can be a good thing for a young player because it’s a good chance for them and they come back with more experience. But it depends on the mentality of the player as to how they play.

“In his case, it was a positive thing. He is a lad who can be quite shy, but he’s very mature. He is keen to learn, he listens to my staff and tries to do the things that you are telling him.

“Normally young players need time because of the pace of the Premier League. But technically he is already fine; he is a worker, he trains well, he is listening and getting better and better.”

Given Benitez has tended to shown an unwillingness to play the academy graduates unless they have significant first team experience behind them, the sight of Longstaff playing well in the Premier League as well as the FA Cup has come as something of a pleasant surprise to the home fans.

Benitez said: “He has not really surprised me. I have been talking with my staff about him for quite a while and how well he is doing every week. We decided eventually we had to play him, and circumstances allowed us to.

“But with young players you have to be careful; sometimes you put them into a difficult game and it’s worse for them because they cannot manage it, and that could be a backwards step.

The Northern Echo:

“We put him in against Liverpool and we felt he had nothing to lose. He was fine and then afterwards he had to play against Chelsea. He is a quiet type and he is not someone who is losing his head.”

Longstaff’s tall in height and he is composed in possession at the heart of the Newcastle midfield. Even though Michael Carrick has not pulled on a black and white shirt because of a career than has taken in West Ham and Manchester United, comparisons have been drawn to another Geordie-born midfielder.

Benitez said: “I’ve heard the Michael Carrick comparison and I can see that. Carrick, later on, became a holding-midfielder, but at this stage Sean has more mobility (than just being a defensive-midfielder) and plenty of stamina.

“He can cover a lot of ground. I can see him maybe in the future he could play that Carrick role, but not now because he likes to go everywhere.”

Carrick was one of those local schoolboys on Tyneside that ended up moving away to take on his career. That worked for him, without every representing the Magpies.

Longstaff is from a sporting family, his father David was part of the successful Whitley Warriors ice hockey team of yesteryear. His uncle is the former Bolton and Newcastle winger Alan Thompson and he looks set to follow in their footsteps. Benitez said: “We’d been monitoring him for a long time, we knew he was doing, and he was getting closer and closer to his debut. We knew he had to play.”