Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe publicly rejected reports that Bruno Guimarães is in talks with Manchester United, calling the speculation a distraction from the midfielder’s recovery and commitment to his club.

“I don’t even know how to respond to that.”

“I don’t even think I should because it’s a waste of my energy.

“I’m not going to be impolite because I don’t think it’s the forum to do that in. For me it’s a nonsense story.

“Bruno’s our captain, he’s fully committed. He’s injured at the moment, his only focus is coming back to fitness.

“For me, it is not the time to think about it. In the summer, you can understand those stories a little bit more because the transfer window is open. To say our captain is in discussions with another club is totally disrespectful to Bruno more than anything else. He is totally committed here.”

Howe’s remarks came amid renewed attention on Manchester United’s midfield situation. As Casemiro prepares to depart on a free transfer, the club faces a summer in which it must identify top options to reinforce the centre of the pitch.

The Brazilian’s expected exit could be compounded by potential departures elsewhere. Manuel Ugarte has struggled for form this season and could leave, a scenario that would leave Kobbie Mainoo as the only natural central midfielder available while the youngster nears agreement over a new contract.

With financial flexibility, United have been linked with several high-profile targets. Bruno Guimarães sits towards the top of their wish list but is not presented as the sole option. Teammate Sandro Tonali is another Newcastle player attracting interest from Europe’s elite ahead of a summer window in which many top sides are expected to pursue midfield reinforcements.

Sources describe shortlists growing into longlists as clubs build alternatives to respond to competition. For now, Newcastle maintain that their captain remains focused on recovery and on the club where he holds the armband.

The surge in transfer prices and squad valuations has reshaped how clubs are measured. The CIES Football Observatory produces those estimates by weighing a player’s quality, age, position and length of contract, and those individual valuations are then summed to give each squad a market value.

The scale is striking. There are nine clubs with squads valued above $1 billion. At the top is Real Madrid with a squad valuation of $1.78 billion and Kylian Mbappé listed as the most valuable player at $221 million. Barcelona follow with $1.60 billion, Lamine Yamal accounting for $403.9 million of that total. Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain each sit at $1.55 billion, with Bukayo Saka ($131.5 million) and Désiré Doué ($150.3 million) named as their most valuable players respectively.

Liverpool’s roster is valued at $1.20 billion, most valuable player Florian Wirtz ($149.8 million). Bayern Munich come in at $1.15 billion with Michael Olise ($162.6 million) as their top-rated asset. Tottenham’s squad is valued at $1.03 billion; Xavi Simons is listed as their most valuable player ($98.1 million), despite the club’s current relegation fight and Igor Tudor’s assessment that players “are lacking when we attack, we lack the quality to score the goal. We are lacking in the middle to run and we are lacking behind to stay there to suffer and not concede the goal.”

The list also includes Manchester United ($953 million, Benjamin Šeško $100.3 million) and Inter ($942 million, Lautaro Martínez $117 million). Earlier-positioned squads under $1 billion include Atlético Madrid ($903 million, Julián Álvarez $136.5 million), Juventus ($896 million, Kenan Yıldız $152.5 million) and Brighton ($894 million, Diego Gómez $86.4 million).

Several voices in the game have reflected on the market changes. Karl-Heinz Rumminegge said, “There are some players who do not come with a price tag.” Robert Lewandowski complained, “You are young, you score 10 goals in six months and some club will pay 60 or 70 million,” adding, “Before, you had to achieve something.” Vincent Kompany warned players about hype: “I always tell my players, ‘When there’s hype please don’t believe it, you’re not that good.’”

Whether the valuations mirror on-field quality or the inflation of a transfer market remains the central question CIES data brings into focus.

Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon has forcefully denied accounts of his conduct around Newcastle’s midweek Champions League tie against Barcelona, calling the commentary surrounding his availability “absolute nonsense” and “complete and utter stupidity.” He specifically challenged comments made by Wayne Rooney on The Overlap.

Rooney said: “If you’re ill, you’re ill. You shouldn’t be there,” and added, “He walked past us before the game and wouldn’t shake our hands. He said he didn’t want us to catch anything, but then he’s going into the dressing room with his teammates.”

Gordon dismissed that version of events while reflecting on a rare Premier League victory at Chelsea, where he scored the only goal on Saturday afternoon. Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day, he said: “I think Rooney said I went past and didn’t shake their hands and went into the changing room. I didn’t.

“I got changed by myself in a changing room the size of this. It was just me and a sink. Complete nonsense. I think they need to do better at what they are doing.”

Gordon went on to describe his illness and the timeline that followed. “The media guy told me what was being said was complete and utter stupidity,” he said. “I was in bed for three days, missed training, so sick for three days. Then I turned up on the day of the game, ready to start the game—I thought I was starting. When I got to the stadium, the manager told me I wasn’t playing, which, you can imagine, I didn’t like very much, but that’s his decision. And the team played great.

“But saying I didn’t want to play in the biggest game of my career is absolute nonsense.”

After Newcastle’s spirited draw with Barcelona, manager Eddie Howe made clear it was his choice to leave Gordon out and that the player had been “absolutely willing to play.” Howe praised Gordon’s “single-mindedness” during the week, a trait the manager said returned on Saturday.