Eddie Howe has insisted Newcastle do not need to sell Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak in the summer amid persistent transfer rumours.

The Toon's Brazilian maestro Guimaraes has been on Paris St Germain's radar for a while, and Swedish sensation Isak, who's just been shortlisted for the Premier League Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year, is reportedly catching eyes at Arsenal and Tottenham. The Gunners have also previously been linked with a move for Guimaraes although it's unclear if the north Londoners would still be interested in buying the 26-year-old.

When quizzed on whether he sees the dynamic duo sticking around at St James' Park for the next campaign, Howe said: "Yes, I do, I'm planning for them to be here. Yes, all my planning is with them in the squad."

Guimaraes, who joined from Lyon for £35million in January 2022, alongside record-breaking Isak, snapped up for £63million from Real Sociedad two summers back, have both been big hits at Newcastle. Isak, in particular, is on fire, having bagged 24 goals this season, with 20 in the league, following his stellar performance in the recent 4-1 triumph over Burnley.

On Isak Howe said: "We signed him knowing that he was young and we wanted to develop his talents and give him an opportunity to showcase what he could do and for me, that was a long-term thing that we started with him, a long-term journey, hopefully, and I've just seen him flourish this year.

"I think he's enjoyed the environment, he's enjoyed the team that he's played in and I hope he does that for many years to come."

However, Newcastle's chief executive Darren Eales' admission earlier this season that the club may need to sell players in the future to adhere to Premier League profit and sustainability rules following a £400million spending spree has led to speculation that some of their star players might be sold. Howe said: “We’re looking to build a squad and a really successful team and to do that, we don’t want to sell our best players.

“That is hugely important for us. It would knock us back some considerable distance because we would have to start again. There is no weakness in the club to say we are going to sell anyone. But, of course, financial fair play is there and we’ll have to comply like everyone else.”

Howe is aware that difficult decisions may have to be made at some point, but is confident he and the ownership will come to the right conclusions for the club. Speaking as he prepared his team for its final home game of the season against Brighton on Saturday, he said: “There is no part of me that will ever go against the club, and there is no part of the club who would willingly go against me if they didn’t think it was the right things for the long term future.”

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