Ex-Newcastle United boss makes shock Sean Longstaff claim and addresses Man Utd transfer rumours

Steve Bruce has revealed that Sean Longstaff ‘needed to mature’ at Newcastle United in order to become a key player for them. After bursting onto the scene under Rafa Benitez, Longstaff enjoyed a very good start to life in the first-team and was heavily-linked with a £50m move to Manchester United during the summer of 2019 - a summer that saw Bruce replace Benitez in the St James’ Park dugout.

Longstaff instead remained on Tyneside but struggled to match those heights under the former Sunderland and Aston Villa man. He has now since solidified himself as one of Newcastle’s key players under Eddie Howe and Bruce has revealed that Longstaff ‘needed to mature’ in order to reach those levels.

Speaking to Gambling Zone about the 26-year-old, Bruce said: “I inherited Sean at a time where 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. Sean was recovering from an awful injury at the time. He's entitled to his opinion, and he's shown maturity over the last couple of years. 

“We had him almost five years ago. He was a lot younger then, a lot of things were swirling around, and that was combined with a long-term injury. I've been nothing but impressed with how he's got on, and you have to accept that criticism of a part of management. Not everybody is going to like you, and I never expected him to. It's never given as a manager. There were times where Sean needed to mature, and he has done. He's proven to be a very good player.”

Bruce also revealed that despite intense speculation and the midfielder’s own belief a move to Old Trafford had progressed to an advanced stage, Longstaff wasn’t necessarily as close to becoming a Manchester United player as he may have believed. Bruce said: “Sean Longstaff's move to Man United was never close. 

“He was insistent that it was at one point, but I knew Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Mike Phelan - it was never on the cards.”