Bruce urges Newcastle midfielder Longstaff to ‘ignore’ £40m Man Utd transfer ‘tittle tattle’ as two sides square up in Premier League

STEVE BRUCE has told Sean Longstaff to ignore all the transfer talk and make sure he delivers on the pitch as Newcastle face Manchester United today.

Longstaff was one of the players United boss Ole Gunnar Sollskjaer targeted as he tried to rebuild his squad at Old Trafford last summer.

Newcastle made it clear they would ask at least £40million for the 21-year-old midfielder, who burst onto the scene with such a dramatic impact last season.

In the end United did not follow through on their interest with a formal bid but he still remains a player they are watching – and Toon boss Bruce is keen for him to forget that and just deliver foir his home-town club.

Bruce said: “I think Sean now needs to concentrate on his own performances, rather than worrying about speculation and tittle-tattle.

“I don’t think there was any real legs in the Manchester United story.

“Whether there was interest, I’ve never really asked the question.

“Distracted? You are a young lad, so you are going to be.

“He’s got to learn to put that aside and just get on with the job in hand, which is playing for us.

“I do believe he signed a new contract last Christmas. There is no problem there contract-wise.

“The thing for him now is to forget about contracts, forget his knee injury, forget Man Utd – it’s all about getting back to playing like we know he is capable.”

Newcastle go into the match desperate for a win which would see them climb out of the bottom three as they head into the international break.

But United themselves are also in need of the three points  having fallen into the bottom half of the Premier League table.