Players like Bruno aren’t around every corner... they’re extremely rare
BOSS URGES CLUB TO PROVE THEIR AMBITION TO GUIMARAES
EDDIE HOWE will fight to keep Bruno Guimaraes at Newcastle as long as possible – and urged the club to prove their ambition to the Brazilian this summer.
French giants
Paris Saint-germain are interested in the £100million-rated midfielder, who has a strong relationship with Newcastle fans.
Howe admits he can offer “no guarantees” over
Guimaraes’ future, if there was a scenario where he could double his wages at a Champions League club.
But the Toon boss is on a mission to keep Guimaraes and top scorer Alexander Isak this summer AND improve his squad for a strong challenge next term.
Howe said: “Let me tell you players like Bruno, they are not around every corner. They are very rare. Bruno should be appreciated for everything he brings. My intention would be to keep Bruno at the club for as long as we possibly can.
“I can never make guarantees, though. That would be absolutely foolish of me. We have been in football long enough to know you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow.
“He is an integral part of the team and playing very well.
“If a player can double his wages you are already in a difficult position. You have created that scenario and I am giving you the truth and the reality.
“Who knows what the future holds? But for our part in it we have to try to make the player at home, keep them happy, develop them, develop their careers, their talents and hopefully that is enough to keep them here for a long time.”
Guimaraes has been consistently excellent driving Newcastle’s midfield in an injury-hit season and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has described him as an “exceptional holding midfielder.”
Asked if he feared fending off approaches this summer, Howe said: “I don’t fear that. It is what you want because they are at a level everyone appreciates. Fear is not the right word. I want Alexander Isak (left) to score and be in the headlines and keep him long term.
“A lot is going to happen this summer.
January was quiet. What does that do to the summer? It is unknown.
We will be in a bracket where I want to improve the squad and come back stronger. It will be an interesting summer.”
Isak and
Guimaraes are now
Champions
League players and Howe said: “A lot will depend on our ambitions and where the club is going in the foreseeable future. One season doesn’t dictate that.
“We are a club that needs to push forward, which is the intention of everyone. You set your ambitions in actions, not by talking. We need to show that
to them.”
‘If a player can double his wages then you are in a very difficult position – but I want to keep Bruno as long as we possibly can’