'Not 100%' - Bruno Guimaraes Newcastle United £100m release clause update amid Man City & Arsenal interest

The Brazilian midfielder joined up with the first team in Tokyo after being granted extra time away following his involvement with Brazil at the Copa America. He is expected to be involved in the upcoming matches against Urawa Red Diamonds and Yokohama F. Marinos this week in Japan.

Howe told The Gazette: “Delighted to get Bruno back, I think it always give you a boost when you get the international players back and suddenly we've got more players in training.

“We've been relatively low numbers until today really, we've had relatively low numbers until today and this is the first day seeing the group at its strongest and you see the quality return.”  It’s the first time Guimaraes has been back with the Newcastle squad since his £100million release clause expired at the end of June. The 26-year-old was subject to transfer interest from the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal but now Howe expects the midfielder to stay at St James’ Park for this coming season.

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“From Bruno's perspective, the release clause was never on my mind and I don't think it was on his mind either.

“But of course it was there and we're delighted it's passed with nothing happening. Now we can focus on him being at Newcastle and hopefully have another season like he did last year.”

When asked if there was a chance the time-sensitive release clause could return in future transfer windows, Howe added: “I don't think so but I'm not 100% certain.”