During Sean Longstaff’s tenure at Newcastle, former manager Steve Bruce asserted that Manchester United made a substantial financial offer for the player.

Before Bruce joined the Magpies in the summer of 2019, the 26-year-old midfielder made an immediate impression on Tyneside and has since garnered requests for a possible opportunity to play for the England national team.

When he first made his debut, there were whispers of United’s interest in homegrown talent Longstaff, with a reported £50 million price tag.

Bruce has now disclosed that the player was “insistent” about moving to Old Trafford and that the Red Devils made a “colossal” bid.

“I inherited Sean at a time where a big-money move to Manchester United was on the cards,” according to the Mirror, Bruce stated.

“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.

“He’s proven to be a very good player. Sean’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.”