Manchester United stunned by Newcastle’s £50m valuation of Longstaff

Manchester United are ready to walk away from negotiations with Newcastle for midfielder Sean Longstaff, claims The Daily Telegraph.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer earmarked Longstaff as a top transfer target at the start of the summer and had hoped to close a £25m deal for the 21-year-old.

United firmed up their interest in Longstaff this week but have been left stunned after Newcastle slapped a £50m asking price on his head.

Newcastle are determined to fend off interest from their Premier League rivals and have told United they will need to cough up the same money they paid Crystal Palace for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

The Red Devils have no interest paying that much for a player that only has eight first-team appearances under his belt and are ready to walk away from negotiations.

Newcastle have endured a rotten summer after losing manager Rafa Benitez and star forward Ayoze Perez, while Steve Bruce’s imminent arrival does not inspire any confidence in the direction the club is heading.

Missing out on Longstaff will force Solskjaer to assess his midfield targets with only a few weeks remaining in the summer transfer window.

Longstaff made an impressive breakthrough into the Newcastle first-team midway through last season before a knee injury in March ended his campaign.

In fact, Newcastle had a far superior win ratio in the Premier League last season when Longstaff started (50%) compared to when he did not feature from the off (26.7%).