£100M YES OR BRUNO
Howe ultimatum for City & PSG
EDDIE HOWE has fired a warning to Manchester City and Paris St-Germain to pay up £100m for Bruno Guimaraes before the end of June or back off.
The Newcastle boss has revealed the Brazilian midfielder has a release clause that clubs can trigger from the end of May to the end of June.
Guimaraes is on the summer target list of City and the French giants and Howe admits he cannot predict the future of either Guimaraes or Alexander Isak but is desperate to keep them both.
However, Howe says Newcastle aren’t in the position to sign “elite ready-made” stars this summer.
And he says he has one eye on having to “fight, live again, and create a slightly different team” should he lose a big name.
Howe said: “I think it goes without saying what my thoughts on the Bruno situation are.
“We want to keep him, we want to build our team around him and he’s an integral part of what we are doing.
“His form has been very good.
He seems very happy and settled. He will be thinking about a busy summer ahead and where we can hopefully take the team. He is a big part of that.
“We are not in control of that, so we shall see.”
Isak (inset) is a target for Arsenal and Barcelona but the Toon want to keep him as well.
The reality of the Saudi PIF ownership is different from the expectation.
Owner Amanda Staveley said last year the club wanted to win everything within five to 10 years.
But the Saudis are yet to pump in the expected millions in sponsorship deals.
Howe said: “We can’t sign ready-made elite players. We have to be slightly different to clubs we are in and around.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen this summer. I can’t predict the future but whatever happens, we can fight, live again and create a slightly different team.
“That might be what we have to do but it’s certainly not what I want to do.
“I want to make minimal changes but changes that can transport us forward. We just have to adjust when it happens.”
Newcastle play Sheffield United today needing a win to bolster their hopes of playing in Europe next season. Howe said: “The players know any form of European qualification would be a success. We want the bigger, better competition. “If we can achieve European competition, we go into next season with hope and optimism.”