Monday afternoon brought with it sensational speculation that Newcastle United's main man Bruno Guimaraes had been offered to Barcelona as part of a swap deal for fellow Brazilian Raphinha. Barcelona-based journalist Gerard Romero claims the Magpies have offered €30m (£25.6m) plus the ex-Lyon man in a bid to tempt the La Liga giants into parting ways with the former Leeds winger.
Such a ludicrous rumour can be easily dismissed for a number of reasons. Number one: Newcastle have always planned to build Eddie Howe's new-look Magpies team around him, with a new contract expected to be signed, sealed and delivered before the end of the summer.
Howe has repeatedly spoke of the need to sign more players of Bruno's ilk as Newcastle go to the next level. The 25-year-old bid farewell to Ligue 1 side Lyon as a relatively-unknown figure but wasted no time becoming a fan-favourite at St James' Park, proving to be a shrewd piece of scouting by the Toon recruitment chiefs.
