Only initially long to express a view (5)
I believe the answer is:
opine
'express a view' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'only initially long' is the wordplay.
'initially' says to take the initial letters.
'long' becomes 'pine' ('pine' can be a synonym of 'long').
The first letter of 'only' is 'o'.
'o'+'pine'='OPINE'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for opine that I've seen before include "Hold forth" , "Give opinion" , "Express or hold view" , "Consider" , "Give one's view" .)