'If you had to': Shay Given makes impossible call Newcastle will be hoping won't need to be made

Newcastle United fans are bracing themselves for a nervy summer transfer window with so much speculation about the club's biggest stars possibly needing to be sold.

Literally, not a day goes by that there's not a report done on the possible departure of either Alexander Isak or Bruno Guimaraes to fund Newcastle's summer spending spree.

Some reports tend to make it sound like Newcastle are still a little club who don't deserve world-class players while others are more focused on the reality that Financial Fair Play has hamstrung the club with the richest backers in the world.

The Saudi PIF has a reported wealth of over £700billion and could easily throw money at Newcastle United to spend on players and they wouldn't even know it was missing, but FFP/Profit and Sustainability Rules won't allow it. Therefore Newcastle have a modest, bordering on meagre budget to play with this summer.

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Shay Given has tried to answer the impossible question

That budget could, of course, be boosted through player sales, and while a few players will be moved on this summer, fans are really hoping it's neither of the aforementioned world-class stars the club currently boasts.

We've stated that we're confident that neither will leave this summer - it just doesn't make sense, however, Shay Given has given his answer to The Sun as to which one he'd sacrifice if he had to and it does make sense.

“Bruno has been brilliant but if you had to make a choice, you’d want to keep Isak.

“He’s up there with the best strikers in the world and could play for any club out there, so that’s why there is so much noise. All the big clubs will be looking at him and could chance their arm with cheeky bids to see just how much Newcastle do need to sell him.

“They paid £60million for him and you see other clubs spending similar sums for forwards who are at panic stations when in goal, fluffing their lines.

“It’s the opposite with Isak, everything just slows down around him, and you wouldn’t want to lose someone of that calibre.

“However, who can afford him now? And if Newcastle sold him for let’s say £120m, they could spend £50m on someone else who might struggle.”

Newcastle can't afford to lose either this summer

Strikers are the hardest position to recruit as prying away a striker with Premier League experience who can hit 15+ goals a season is nigh-on impossible, so you have to take a risk on a foreign player who may not be able to adapt to the English game right away.

Newcastle's midfield is pretty stacked already, however, it can't be overlooked just how important Bruno Guimaraes is. Our record when Bruno has been absent is abysmal, we really can't afford to take a risk of losing him.

Again, we don't think either will leave this summer. They came for the project and they know it wasn't going to happen overnight, and despite a rocky season, we're still moving in the right direction. Here we are, still in contention for Europe despite having half of our squad missing for most of the season. Next year we can fly if everyone stays fit.