'Official' Newcastle United & Bruno Guimaraes update as Arsenal and Man City watch on

Bruno Guimaraes’ £100million release clause is now officially active as Newcastle United face a nervous four-week wait.

It’s understood the Brazilian’s release clause became active on Monday with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano previously claiming it was valid from the final week of May to the last week of June.

That means for the next month, the 26-year-old’s future is out of Newcastle’s hands. If a club were to trigger the release clause during that timeframe - Manchester City and Arsenal have been heavily linked - then it’d be up to Guimaraes to agree terms.

Although there is an anxious wait initially, Magpies head coach Eddie Howe believes having a deadline can benefit United, who would regain control of Guimaraes’ future heading into July and August.

“Having that was well planned and structured by the club, in a sense that there is a finish point,” Howe said last month. “We don’t want the constant speculation, I don’t think that’s healthy for the player or for us.”

Guimaraes has been a transformative signing since joining from Lyon in January 2022 with his opening 18 months on Tyneside coinciding with Newcastle’s rise from Premier League relegation candidates to qualifying for the Champions League.

Despite the three-place drop off this season, which saw Newcastle fail to qualify for Europe after Manchester United’s FA Cup win, Guimaraes has remained an integral part having featured in all-but one of the club’s 38 league matches.

Howe has made it clear he wants to keep the Brazilian and build a team around him and Alexander Isak, whose 25 goals in 23-24 saw him become the first United player since Alan Shearer to hit that tally.

“When it’s something you don’t necessarily have control over, I don’t tend to worry about,” Howe said previously. “I think it goes without saying what my thoughts on the Bruno situation are.

“We want to keep him, we want to build our team around him and he’s an integral part of what we are doing. His form has been very good. He seems very happy and settled. He will be thinking about a busy summer ahead and where we can hopefully take the team. He is a big part of that. We are not in control of that, so we shall see.”