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When he was in charge of the Magpies, Steve Bruce disclosed that Newcastle United turned down a “colossal” bid from Manchester United for midfielder Sean Longstaff.
The 62-year-old former Red Devils defender managed Newcastle for slightly over two years, from July 2019 to October 2021. He left the team amicably soon after the Saudi-backed takeover was finalised.
Longstaff made his senior debut under Rafael Benitez, Bruce’s predecessor, six months before Bruce took over. It didn’t take long for rumours about Longstaff joining Manchester United to surface.
Longstaff was reportedly one of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first permanent acquisitions as Red Devils boss in the summer of 2019, but Newcastle was able to fight off interest while Bruce was in charge.
Bruce said to Gambling Zone, as cited by The Mirror, “I inherited Sean at a time when a big-money move to Manchester United was on the cards.” “Newcastle were turning down a colossal amount of money, and that was swirling around at the time.”
In addition, Bruce asserted that Longstaff was “insistent” in joining Man United and that the midfielder has developed since taking over the Magpies.
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“At that time in 2019 Sean was recuperating from a terrible injury. Bruce stated, “He’s matured over the past couple of years, and he’s entitled to his opinion.”
“He was with us for over five years. He was much younger back then, a lot was going on, and he had a chronic injury on top of all that.
He has shown himself to be an excellent player. Sean never came close to joining Manchester United. He insisted that it had once been the case, but I knew Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Mike Phelan, who was his assistant, so it was never likely.”
In 2019, after Man United’s failed attempts to sign Longstaff, Solskjaer’s team signed Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon instead. That summer, they also spent a lot of money on Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire.
Longstaff acknowledged to The Athletic earlier this year that he did not love working for Bruce, saying, “I didn’t feel like I was getting massively coached into becoming the best version of myself.” When I made my breakthrough (under Rafa Benitez), it was flawless. I came in and did well and everyone loves you.
