Eddie Howe said he hopes Bruno Guimaraes will stay at Newcastle this summer amid transfer interest from Arsenal.
Arsenal have been pushing to sign the Brazilian midfielder for some time but have repeatedly been told he is not for sale. The two clubs remain in talks and Newcastle have rejected multiple bids for Guimaraes, who is believed to be keen on the transfer.
It has been another difficult summer for Newcastle, who in two pre-season matches so far have been held to a draw by non-league Gateshead and thumped 4-1 by Bristol City.
Those results follow the departures of key players in Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali.
Howe is coming under increasing pressure from the Geordie faithful after a beleaguered Newcastle staggered to a 12th-place finish in the Premier League last season, and he can ill afford to lose another fan-favourite like Guimaraes.
Speaking after the Bristol defeat on Wednesday night, Howe insisted he remains in constant contact with Guimaraes, but revealed he had not received any assurances from the player with regards to his future.
“We’ve spoken numerous times,” said Howe, speaking pitchside at Ashton Gate. “Assurances, I don’t think you can push too hard for those.
“I’ve said many times you want players who are committed. Bruno has always been committed here. His training performances, game performances have been outstanding.
“Every time he’s worn the shirt, he’s played with the fans by his side. I’d love to see that continue.”
Speaking last week, Howe dubbed Guimaraes ‘a fantastic person’ and admitted that he is ‘not a part’ of talks regarding the player’s future.
In spite of that, Howe continued, saying it is a no-brainer for him to want to keep Guimaraes on Tyneside: “I think we want to keep all of our best players, they are so valuable.
“I have said numerous times, there’s not many of them. To get them is so difficult and develop them, so when you get them you want to keep them.
“Bruno is very much in that category, he’s an outstanding player. On a night like tonight of course he’d have helped us.”
Guimaraes is set to report for pre-season training on Friday.
Arsenal are expected to continue pushing ahead in their pursuit of Guimaraes, with Mikel Arteta confirming on Wednesday that he wants his squad to ‘evolve’ this summer by signing ‘better individuals’.
