Newcastle transfers state of play: £43m Argentinian offered as Magpies braced for cheeky Bruno bids

Newcastle United can breathe a sigh of relief after Bruno Guimaraes' £100million release clause expired at midnight with nobody even troubling the Magpies with an offer.

Bruno still has admirers of course but nobody was willing to match the asking price set on his shoulders and it now remains to be seen if United chiefs have heard the last of this ongoing transfer drama. Manchester City and Arsenal are still understood to be interested in the Brazil midfielder but Newcastle are now in the driving seat on his future again.

No release clause means no loss of power for Newcastle but they still could be subjected to cheeky bids for the ex-Lyon star. A return to top four contention next season should keep Bruno happy but the player remains highly ambitious.

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Ajay Matthews

Newcastle have ran the rule over the 18-year-old during his rise from Middlesbrough reserves to the first-team stage. The striker caught the eye in Premier League 2 last season with four goals in 12 appearances and has bagged regularly in the Under-18s for Boro.

His agency SMI are well known to Newcastle and Matthews shares the same representatives as Newcastle goalkeeper Mark Gillespie. This is one to watch but it's hard to see Boro gifting the youngster to Newcastle easily.

Carlos Alcaraz

The 21-year-old spent last season on loan at Juventus and made 11 appearances in Serie A in the second half of the season. Alcaraz had been a regular with his parent club Southampton before that and the Argentina youth international is still regarded highly on the south coast.

He has now been linked with Newcastle via the Italian newspapers this morning. Juventus had a £43million buy clause on the South American but have not opted to go through with the purchase. Whether Newcastle would pay that much for a player of limited experience remains to be seen.

Yankuba Minteh

After Newcastle's bid to sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin collapsed, the Toffees' move for Minteh also hit the buffers soon after. With a clutch of clubs involved in the chase for his signature, the teenage winger now has a possible switch to Lyon in his sights.

But the French club have already been told he will cost them £40million. Eddie Howe is open to keeping Minteh if a deal did not go through but with pressure to sell one star high because of PSR rules, it looks like he's on his way.