Pep Guardiola is keen to find a long-term midfielder partner for Rodri and waxed lyrical about Guimaraes in March. “He is an exceptional holding midfielder,” the legendary head coach said.

“He is aggressive, with the ball or without the ball. At set-pieces, he’s aggressive and is a real, complete holding midfielder.”

And if Guardiola can land Guimaraes in what could be the Catalan boss’ final season at City, it would leave Newcastle reeling but with a considerable amount of cash to splash in the remainder of the window.

Though should City want to land Guimaraes for Guardiola, Howe has revealed that they will need to move quickly with the clause set to expire at the end of June. “Having that was well planned and structured in the sense that there’s a finish point,” the Newcastle boss said following the renovation of his Brazilian star’s contract.

“We don’t want a summer of speculation. I don’t think that would be healthy for the player or for us.”

A quick resolution may not be ideal for the red side of Manchester, however, as they could need to offload Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood before pushing for another right-winger.

With Chelsea also lurking in the race for Olise, two stronger contenders for his signature may arrive when United present their pitch to the Palace star.