Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has stressed that the club have no plans to sell midfielder Bruno Guimaraes amid reported interest from Real Madrid.
The reigning European champions are braced for the departure of midfield star Casemiro to Manchester United, with personal terms agreed and a bid worth €70m set to be accepted, and reports in Spain have named Guimaraes as their preferred alternative.
The speculation was put to Howe on Friday, but the Newcastle boss was adamant that the club would not even entertain a bid as they build for the future.
“Absolutely not [wanting to lose Guimaraes], we’re trying to build a squad here that we feel can take the club to be successful over the next few years and we want to build that squad and enhance the group, not taking away our best players,” Howe said.
“It shows [how special Guimaraes is]. Regarding speculation, I’ve got no problem with it as such. I think it’s a compliment to Bruno and how well he’s done for us.
“He’s been incredible I think and he’s only going to get better from this point. He’s a very valuable member of our team.”
Howe did acknowledge, however, that Newcastle will face a real battle to keep hold of Guimaraes if they fail to match the Brazilian’s ambition.
“It will in part come down to how well we perform and how far the team goes in terms of satisfying players that do very well for us over an extended period of time,” Howe added. “Bruno has just started his journey with us and we desperately want him to grow with the team. We want to make the team stronger and him to show his quality even more.
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“That’s our aim and he’s done so well in a short period of time, the supporters love him, we love him and I think he’s in a good place.”
He continued: “Every footballer has different aims and ambitions and I’m sure Bruno has got huge ambitions going forward in his career and others embrace that because he needs to have because he has the ability to achieve special things.
“We’ve got to try and give him an opportunity and a platform to fulfil those aims and dreams here, that’s going to be important for us.”
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