Popular pundit Martin Keown has made a bold claim about Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff.

The Newcastle midfielder has been in exceptional form in the recent weeks and he has attracted a lot of praise because of that.

Former Arsenal star Keown believes that he might even be better than West Ham’s Declan Rice.

He said during the BT Sport live programme (via HITC): “This has been a Michael Carrick-type performance by Longstaff. A lot of people are talking about Declan Rice at West Ham, but I think this lad might be better”.

Rice has been in phenomenal form as well and he has been one of the best young players in the country this season.

The West Ham ace is undoubtedly England’s best defensive midfielder right now and Longstaff will certainly relish the comparisons with him.

Rice is perhaps more developed and mature at this stage but there is no doubt that both players are prodigious talents and they will have a big future in the game.

Keown’s comments will certainly excite the Newcastle United fans. On the other hand, West Ham fans will feel that Longstaff is being overrated as the flavour of the month.

The reality is both players are a key part of their team. However, they are still very young and they will only develop with time and experience.

It will be interesting to see if they can finish the season strongly and then go up a level next year.