Motherwell have announced the signing of ex-Everton youngster Chris Long from Blackpool. It’s one that should fill Well fans with plenty of optimism.
As well as Everton, the 24-year-old was also once highly thought of at Premier League side Burnley. Since leaving Turf Moor, he has found a regular run of games hard to come by. There is no denying though there’s a player in him.
Stephen Robinson is in need of a new talisman and Long’s arrival could be a great bit of business for the Steelmen.
Long is a mix of target man and workhorse
The best way I can describe him for Motherwell fans is this. He’s got the pressing ability Curtis Main showed during his early days at Motherwell mixed in with a bit of John Sutton.
Long is a very committed player who’ll run the hard yards for the club. The Englishman is also a very capable poacher. He only scored two goals last season, however, he only featured for Blackpool and Fleetwood Town for a total of 962 league minutes, or 10 full games plus an additional hour and two minutes.
In the 2017/18 season though he was a decent frontman for Northampton Town, scoring nine times as the Cobblers dropped out of League One. He was arguably the Sixfields side’s best attacking outlet that season.
Way back in 2015 he even got amongst the goals for Brentford in the Championship, netting four in 10 games.
Long’s problem has been he’s never consistently played anywhere for more than a season. That may not happen at Fir Park given he’s only signed a one-year deal, but he needs regular minutes at one club over the course of two or three years.
If he performs well, the Steelmen will likely offer him a new deal, or English clubs will come calling again. That’s Motherwell’s selling point. You play well for the club and deliver good service, and in return, you get a move to bigger things.
Long is a promising signing for the Well. If Robinson can give him regular starts and minutes, he could get firing pretty quickly at Fir Park.