Newcastle chief refuses to answer Bruno Guimaraes transfer question amid Liverpool links

Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth has refused to reveal whether Bruno Guimaraes has a release clause in his contract.

The Brazil international joined Eddie Howe’s side from Lyon in a £40m deal from Lyon in January 2022 and has arguably been their standout signing since being taken over by the Saudi Arabian PIF the previous October.

Real Madrid have been regularly linked with the midfielder, but so have Liverpool, who are known admirers of Guimaraes, with the Telegraph reporting in September that both the Reds and Chelsea had seen Newcastle emphatically knock back transfer enquiries for the midfielder in the last two transfer windows as they immediately insisted he was not for sale at any price.

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Guimaraes signed a new five-year contract with Newcastle back in October, with his new deal running until 2028. And asked about a release clause, Ashworth replied via the Chronicle: "I'm not going to confirm whether there is or isn't any release clauses in Bruno or any other of our player's contracts.

"They're all private and confidential. I can say to you about the principles of release clauses and you can have a situation where a player may have a dream country or club that they want to play for and you can make it specific to them, you can make it specific that it can sit outside of your competitors in the Premier League.

"Sometimes players view the fact that they're happy to sign a long-term contract but if family situations change they may want to experience something different.

"It's not always just about the players wanting an exit and this