'No weaknesses': Eddie Howe sends defiant message to Man City and Arsenal in Friday press brief

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe spoke to the media this morning ahead of tomorrow's final Premier League home game of this season against Brighton & Hove Albion.

With the season now winding down, the club is looking towards the next campaign and part of that is planning out the best way to approach recruitment over the summer, and by extension, discussing potential outgoings.

The Chronicle reports that Newcastle's top brass met in Northumberland for a two-day summit recently to discuss the current state of play at the club and how to move forward.

Part of that will inevitably have been discussing transfer targets but also how important it is to keep hold of our current top players.

Eddie Howe put the record straight on Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes' futures

With Arsenal reportedly keen on Alexander Isak and Manchester City being linked with Bruno Guimaraes, the club bosses all need to be sure they're on the same page when it comes to their futures.

Eddie Howe certainly knows how damaging it would be to let either player leave and has made it abundantly clear this morning that the club has no desire to lose them.

"I don't know why that is in the news. But I keep saying we are looking to build a successful team.

"Now to do that I have always said we don't want to sell our best player. That will knock us back some considerable distance because then you are starting again.

"So there's no weakness in the club to say we are going to sell anybody. But of course FFP is there and we have to comply like every other football club. This summer is a very difficult thing to predict, but there is no desire from anybody at the football club to sell our best players."

It's a strong message that will make zero difference

It's another clear, strong message from the club, but we know for a fact it won't stop the rumour mill from churning out endless stories about Isak and Bruno moving on.

We've said it before, it we were one of the 'Big Six' sides, the media wouldn't even be suggesting that either player could leave, but because they know how good Isak and Bruno are, they can't stand the fact that they aren't at one of their beloved clubs so will do anything they can to rock the boat.

It's sad and pathetic and we can't wait to see Isak bang 30 goals next season while Bruno picks up more awards than he knows what to do with.