Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff has confessed that he was "distracted" by talk of a potential transfer to Manchester United over the summer.
The English ace was heavily linked with a £30 million ($37m) switch to Old Trafford while the transfer window was open, but a final deal never came to fruition.
Longstaff burst onto the Premier League scene last season, impressing in nine appearances for Newcastle before being struck down with a knee ligament injury in March.
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He showed enough promise to catch Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's eye in Manchester, with the Norwegian boss favouring a transfer policy of targeting young, homegrown talent.