Newcastle United have not had to deal with the prospect of losing key players in the PIF era.
Such is the level ambition of on offer from the club’s owners, the story around Newcastle of late has been of big-name incomings.
Still, that doesn’t mean players can’t leave.
With FFP constraints looming large, the idea of selling a prized asset has been mentioned.
Bruno Guimaraes, sadly, surely looks the most obvious. Linked with the likes of Barcelona, the Brazilian is believed to have a release clause of around £100m included in his contract.
However, Eddie Howe has now spoken of the matter.
Bruno Guimaraes transfer news: Eddie Howe provides latest
Indeed, speaking ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Sunderland, Howe shared where he stood on the subject of the Brazilian’s future.
“When you are talking about your best players you want to keep them at the football club as long as possible so that is certainly our aim,” he said (via Lee Ryder).
Bruno Guimaraes: Transfer might be necessary for Newcastle
It, of course, would be a huge shame to see Guimaraes leave St James’ Park this summer. Hailed as “outstanding” by Howe, he’s proven worth every penny of the reported £40m Newcastle paid to sign him from Lyon.
Still, and while no one at the club is going to say it, perhaps allowing him to leave for such big money would help strengthen in other positions.
Liverpool, after all, sold Philippe Coutinho to bring in Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker, two players who ultimately took them to the Premier League and Champions League title.
There is certainly precedence in selling players to fund a rebuild of the team and still getting huge success.
Guimaraes has been an excellent signing for Newcastle and, at the same time, he could equally be an excellent sale.
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