It’s only natural that some of Newcastle United’s players would be attracting interest this summer.
While this has been a difficult season for the club as a whole, Newcastle could yet finish in the Premier League’s top six.
That is a testament to the work Eddie Howe has done, as well as the quality inside his squad.
Bruno Guimaraes continues to shine amid reported interest in the Brazilian from Paris Saint-Germain.
While there is still hope the club will keep a hold of the midfielder, it remains to be seen if that really is the case.
Then there’s Alexander Isak.
He’s been tipped for a move to Arsenal, albeit Howe wants to build around the striker and Isak himself says he’s happy at St James’ Park.
Still, the prospect of selling key players was raised in January, with Newcastle potentially needing the cash to form a rebuild of their own.
Clearly, no one at the club will want that to happen. The reality, however, may be more grim.
Howe, after all, has warned a “difficult summer” awaits Newcastle.
With that in mind, Rio Ferdinand was asked who he would choose to sell out of Guimaraes or Isak, if he absolutely had to.
The former Manchester United defender opted for Guimaraes, though fellow pundit Peter Crouch had a different answer.
Peter Crouch names who Newcastle should sell – Bruno Guimaraes or Alexander Isak
Speaking on TNT Sports before the 4-0 win over Tottenham, Crouch named Isak as the player Newcastle should sell. Again, the question was framed in that the pundits were asked who they’d rather sell if FFP restrictions meant it absolutely had to happen.
Crouch believes Isak, in that event, should be the one to go and named Callum Wilson as a potential replacement.
“It’s a really difficult question that but I think they do have Callum Wilson behind Isak,” he said.
“He’s a 20-goal-a-season man, if he stays fit. The only question mark is, can he stay fit?
“It’s a real problem for him but he’s an England international and he’s a proven goalscorer at this level. Eddie Howe knows him and I think although you don’t want to sell Isak, if you had to sell one of Bruno or him, I’d sell Isak.”
Callum Wilson is not Alexander Isak’s replacement
Were Wilson to be fit, there may be some merit to what Crouch is saying.
However, it would appear incredibly unlikely that, at the age of 32, Wilson would suddenly shrug off the seemingly constant injury worries he’s had to deal with for much of his career.
Surely into the autumn of his career anyway and linked with a move away, Newcastle would be mad to consider Wilson as Isak’s replacement.
Luckily, they are said to want to build around Isak for the future.
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