Eddie Howe says all of his planning for next season involves Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes - and has warned that to sell either player would set the club back ‘a considerable distance’.

The Newcastle boss is surprised at the speculation linking Isak to Arsenal and Guimaraes to Manchester City, among others. He, rather, insists the club is not in a position whereby they have to trade their star players.

‘I don't know why that (richer clubs targeting Newcastle players) is so relevant or in the news as much as it is,’ said Howe.

‘I'm planning for them (Isak and Guimaraes) to be here. All my planning is with them in the squad. We're looking to build a squad and a really successful team and, to do that, we don't want to sell our best players. That is hugely important for us, it will knock us back some considerable distance because we would have to start again.

‘There is no weakness in the club to say we are going to sell anyone. But, of course, financial fair play is there and we'll have to comply like everyone else. That's why I've said this summer is going to be a very difficult thing to predict. But there is no desire from anyone at the football club to sell our best players.’

Eddie Howe is prepared to build a team around star players and hopes Newcastle keep them

Howe believes that, with some smart additions this summer, his squad can continue to challenge at the top end of the Premier League. He does not want to enter a period of ‘rebuild’.

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How hard is it, then, to maintain success if your best players are picked off?

‘It is, because you're going through a process of rebuild, and that is very difficult to do at this level,’ said Howe. ‘You have to bring somebody in who is unproven, and you have to build them up to the level of the players you started with.

‘Sometimes, that can take a year, two years, so we don't want to end up in that position. We're fiercely determined to grow this year. We’ve had a really good season in tough conditions and if we've got our full squad back, which we hope we will have for pre-season, then I think we'll be a really good team.’

Howe has confirmed he has now been consulted regarding the club’s sporting director search. As Mail Sport revealed two weeks ago, Dougie Freedman is the frontrunner and has support inside the club. Howe says he would like an appointment before the summer transfer window.

‘Ideally, yes,’ he said. ‘With any transfer window, whether it's January or the summer, if you can be best prepared with the best tools, you’ll have better results.’

Meanwhile, Howe says he is ‘surprised’ that Anthony Gordon has not been included in the Premier League shortlist for Young Player of the Year. The head coach was asked if there was any other winger he would swap him for.

‘No, there isn’t,’ he said. ‘I think that is attached to my love for my players. I end up believing my best players are the best players in the league when I work with them.’

Gordon has missed only two games this season - both because of suspension - and Howe added: ‘He has a unique view on his body. His mindset is that, “I’m fit, I’m ready to play”. If you put a game on the day after a game, he’d say he was fit and ready to play, no problem. He has a unique vision on that.

‘A lot of players now are very focused on their body in a different way and have to be 100 per cent right to play or to train. Anthony is quite robust in that sense in that he just wants to play football. He loves the game and wants to be out there every minute that he can be.’