Steve Bruce has told the press that he hopes to hang onto midfielder Sean Longstaff after being quizzed by journalists on his future.
Reports have suggested that the 22-year-old is once again a target for the Red Devils after they tried and failed to sign him in the summer.
According to the Standard, Michael Carrick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are big fans of the midfielder, however, they state that this move is expected to be done at the end of the season rather than now.
In the summer the club were put off by Newcastle’s £50m asking price. Whether that fee has budged is unknown, however, it is probably unlikely given that the Magpies wouldn’t want to lose him at this stage of the season.
Would you sell Longstaff to Manchester United this month?
Yes
No
Speaking about the future of the older Longstaff, Bruce was pretty calm. He stated that, despite knowing Solskjaer and Mike Phelan very well, he knows absolutely nothing of their interest other than the stories which have been coming out in the press.
When quizzed about Man United’s interest, he told Chronicle Live: “Look I have said it from day one, we can never stop the speculation.
“As far as I am concerned I know Mike Phelan and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer very well and at this moment I don’t know anything about it.
“We don’t want to sell our best young players.
“That’s certainly the case with Longy.
“This time last year he was just breaking through and he got in because of injury.
“The kid has done very well and let’s see if we can keep playing.”
Given that Longstaff has been struggling for first-team footballer this year, it would be really surprising to see United offer £50m for his services.
From the 21 games that have been played, he has started just nine while coming on in five. He has one assist from those matches and has a pretty low average match rating of just 6.31 from his 14 Premier League appearances this term. In fact, out of the whole squad, he has the 19th highest average rating.
Bruce sounds as if he is being honest in the fact that Solskjaer hasn’t made it clear that he wants the midfielder. While that might change, it is hard to see why he would be targeted in January considering that he is unlikely to make an instant impact in Manchester.