It promises to be a long and arduous summer if speculation persists over Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak's futures at Newcastle United. Eddie Howe certainly isn't hiding his disdain regarding the ongoing talk of high-profile exits in the coming months.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Howe again stressed his desire to keep the duo on Tyneside beyond the summer and long into the future. The Newcastle boss has the backing of the board with regards to keeping his best and brightest talent, and although Bruno's release clause could throw a spanner in the works before the end of June, it is expected the Magpies will put up some fight to keep the prized pair.

"I'm planning for them to be here. Yes, all my planning is with them in the squad," Howe told reporters at his pre-Brighton press conference.

He later added: "I don't know why that [Man City and Arsenal speculation] is in the news. But I keep saying we are looking to build a successful team. Now to do that I have always said we don't want to sell our best players. That will knock us back some considerable distance because then you are starting again.

"So there's no weakness in the club to say we are going to sell anybody. But of course FFP is there and we have to comply like every other football club. This summer is a very difficult thing to predict, but there is no desire from anybody at the football club to sell our best players."

Financial Fair Play will of course dictate what Newcastle can and cannot do between now and September, with upgrades to Howe's squad desired. However, the former Bournemouth boss has navigated recent windows with little fuss when it comes to outgoing stars.

Howe this week told Gary Neville that Allan Saint-Maximin's sale came down to FFP realities. This time around there is a plethora of options capable of leaving to ease financial concerns.

Callum Wilson, Kieran Trippier and Miguel Almiron all attracted interest in January. Meanwhile, Matt Targett has struggled with injuries. Nick Pope and Fabian Schar are getting no younger, while offloading academy graduates such as Sean Longstaff or Elliot Anderson would be classed as a 'pure profit' sale.

As for Bruno and Isak, the message from Howe is clear; Newcastle are determined to fend off any suitors in the coming months. The players have echoed such sentiments, expressing their desire to stay in recent interviews.

Guimaraes' release clause could be triggered in the next six weeks to change that. However, should no wealthy suitor emerge before June, it is extremely unlikely Newcastle bow to pressure and offload the fan favourite.

As for Isak, it is unclear if any European side actually possesses the type of transfer kitty to persuade Newcastle to sell. It will certainly take more than Guimaraes' £100m release clause fee.