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The prospect of losing key players has not been something Newcastle United have had to contend with in the PIF era.

With the story largely being one of success since October 2021’s game-changing takeover, much of the talk around Newcastle has largely centred around potential incomings.

By and large, that continues to be the case. Even months before the January transfer window, the club are being linked with a lot of players.

Still, there is one current star who has been tipped for a potential exit.

Which brings us to Bruno Guimaraes.

The Brazilian midfielder recently signed a new contract but that does reportedly contain a release clause, which would make the idea of him leaving a distinct possibility.

Now, reports from Spain have emerged.

Bruno Guimaraes doesn’t rule out joining Barcelona one day

Indeed, Sport suggest the 25-year-old is open to the prospect of joining Barcelona one day.

The club were linked with a move over the course of the summer, while arch rivals Real Madrid have also been credited with an interest in the former Lyon star.

The report also claims that Barcelona could sign Guimaraes for less than his release clause, though that is currently unlikely due to the financial situation at the Camp Nou.

For his part, while the £40m star is currently settled, he’s said to be open to joining Barca at some point in his career and has not lost hope of one day turning out for them.

Opinion: Hard to believe Barca have a clause – though would be understandable for Guimaraes to go

It’s very hard to believe Newcastle would let themselves get into a position where Barcelona can simply walk in and take arguably their best player for much less than his market value. Hailed as a “massive” part of the team’s success by teammate Nick Pope, PIF surely won’t be making it easy to land him.

If they have agreed to a release clause, that is surely concession enough. Quite why they’d do more to facilitate an exit seems unclear.

Still, it would be understandable were Guimaraes to want to play for Barcelona one day. Perhaps no longer the team who rewrote the record books under Pep Guardiola but they remain one of the biggest clubs in the world and have consistently housed the best South American talent in the game.

Just because he may be open to the move at some point in his career, however, does not need to raise panic levels. It doesn’t mean he’s actively pushing to leave Newcastle, either.