Watch Aston Villa vs Newcastle live on Sky Sports Premier League on Monday Night Football from 7pm; kick-off 8pm
Thursday 21 November 2019 11:16, UK
Newcastle head coach Steve Bruce says he is "quietly confident" of securing teenage midfielder Matty Longstaff to a new deal in the next few weeks.
Longstaff, who graduated from the Newcastle academy, has shone since making his first-team debut this season and the club are keen to tie down his future before his contract expires at the end of the season.
The 19-year-old's performances for Newcastle this season were rewarded with a call-up to the England U20 squad and he featured twice, getting his first start in Tuesday's 3-0 win over Iceland.
Asked about negotiations, Bruce said: "Those things are still ongoing.
"We're quietly confident we'll get that tied up in the next few weeks but as I've said many times now, it's not just a case of you know...it seems to take forever - even with a young lad like Matty."
"As you know, he's been away playing for England, representing his country, which we are all delighted about."
Newcastle centre-back pairing Florian Lejeune and Fabian Schar are back in contention for Monday night's game at Aston Villa, live on Sky Sports.
Lejeune has been out for seven months with a recurring knee injury - his last appearance for Newcastle was in the 1-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace in April.
Meanwhile, Schar, the Switzerland international, has been out since October after injuring his medial knee ligament in the defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
It comes at a good time for Bruce, who has lost captain Jamaal Lascelles until the new year with a knee problem.
"Florian Lejeune is now ready to go and the same goes for Fabian Schar too," said Bruce.
"As long as they come through the next two or three days unscathed they will be in contention.
"The big one is obviously Flo because he's been out for so long. But he's done everything, he's played in the games, he's got the minutes under his belt on the training ground.
"He's a wonderful professional, he's first in and last to go. He's done everything he possibly can, he feels ready to go and I think that's the most important thing.
"He knows his knee better than anyone."
