Shola Ameobi insists that Newcastle United should hand Matty Longstaff a new contract.
The 20-year-old midfielder is out of contract next month and there is at least one Serie A side waiting in the wings to bag the player for a bargain £400,000.
The powers that be have postponed talks with Longstaff during the lockdown but the player had not heard anything from the boardroom just before the season was suspended.
Despite scoring two excellent goals against Man United home and away, Longstaff's contributions became less and less as the contract wrangle continued.
Yet Ameobi has revealed that staff want to see the current regime do the right thing and give him a new deal.
The club's loan manager Ameobi, speaking to Sky Sports, said: "All the staff here want Matty to sign a contract.
"The likes of Matty is a product of Newcastle, it should be one of the top priorities should the new owners come in.
"We have to keep the players that we have.
"He should be a top priority.
"We need to lock him down for the future.”
United also halted contract talks with his older brother Sean Longstaff last year, although he does have two years left of his current deal.
Sean had attracted interest from Man United with Red Devils legend Michael Carrick believed to have urged the club to sign him.
