Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff has admitted he was 'distracted' by Manchester United's interest in the summer.
Longstaff, 21, was identified by United as a long-term addition to their midfield following the sale of Marouane Fellaini to Shandong Luneng and release of Ander Herrera.
The MEN revealed Longstaff's representatives held encouraging talks with United in the summer but the club viewed him as a fall-back option, with a few targets ahead of Longstaff on their midfield shortlist.
United still wanted Longstaff to join them on their pre-season tour of Australia and Asia, but when executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward contacted Newcastle in early July The Magpies demanded £50million for Longstaff. That effectively ended United's pursuit and Longstaff, who said he was 'flattered' by the interest, has elaborated on his mindset at the time.
"You can sometimes get distracted by the outside noise and maybe for a little bit in the summer I was a bit," Longstaff told the Newcastle website. "It’s hard not to.
"Whenever you go anywhere, you see your face on the front of a newspaper and you turn the telly on, people are talking about you. And it’s not like they’re talking about little things, they’re talking about things that can change your life really.
"The expectation is half what I've done and it's probably a good thing. It does just go to show I did impress people when I got my chance last year.
"So for me it’s about not listening to them and sticking to what I do. I speak to Matty Ritchie a lot, he’s someone I lean on in the squad. He tends to keep us grounded and he’s always there with good bits of advice."
United failed to recruit a midfielder but are in the January transfer window. Longstaff, who has made just 13 Premier League appearances, is contracted to Newcastle until 2022. Despite his prominence in the Newcastle side, Longstaff was not included in the recent England Under-21 squad.
