EPL: Newcastle Wants Bruno Guimarães to Stay, Says Coach Eddie Howe

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has said the club wants to keep captain Bruno Guimarães. This comes as rumors grow about the Brazil midfielder possibly moving to Arsenal.

Reports say Arsenal is getting ready to make a £70 million offer for the 28-year-old player. But Newcastle is set on keeping one of their important players.

After Newcastle's 1-1 pre-season draw with Gateshead on Saturday, Howe mentioned that he has had several good talks with Guimarães. However, he could not promise what will happen in the future.

As BBC Sport reported on Saturday, Howe said, "You’ve got to look at it in its own right. Bruno is the captain of our football club. He’s been an unbelievable player and person all through the time we have worked together."

Howe made it clear that Newcastle's stance has not changed. "I speak on behalf of everyone at the football club. We absolutely love him and, of course, everyone will want him to stay."

He added, "I’ve had some really good conversations with him before the World Cup, during the World Cup and after the World Cup. What we speak about has to remain private, but he’s just a great player, a great person."

The Newcastle manager mentioned that he is not directly involved in talks about the midfielder’s future. "I don’t know what’s going to happen with Bruno’s future. That’s for other people to speculate about. They are conversations that I’m not part of," he said.

Guimarães has been on holiday with his family after Brazil's last-16 exit from the World Cup. He is expected to return to Newcastle on Friday. After that, he will join the squad for a pre-season training camp in Spain.

Despite some people comparing this situation to Alexander Isak's departure last summer, Howe said there is no sign that Guimarães will not return for pre-season.