Manchester United 'plot £40m bid' for Newcastle United midfielder

The Gazette revealed in August that the club was prepared to pay up to £35million for the midfielder in the summer transfer window. Newcastle United, however, made it clear that Longstaff was not for sale. Head coach Steve Bruce said: “He’s a player we want to keep.”

However, the Daily Star report that Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has been promised “significant funds to spend” in the January transfer window. It’s claimed that Longstaff is a £40million target for the club.

Longstaff, 21, is in line for a new deal at United, having signed his present contract, which ties him to the club until 2022, before his first-team breakthrough.

Meanwhile, a distraught Longstaff labelled Newcastle’s 5-0 Premier League defeat to Leicester City on Sunday as "embarrassing”. Man United visit St James’s Park on Sunday.