Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes has been backed to ignore any transfer interest which could come his way and become a long-term figure at St James' Park.
The Lowdown: Transfer talk
Last month, it was reported that Barcelona have the Brazilian on their radar for a potential transfer swoop.
Given how the midfielder only joined the Tyneside club during the January transfer window, it would be unfortunate for the Toon to potentially see him leave any time soon.
Dan Ashworth has revealed plans to shut down the transfer chatter by penning the fan favourite to a new deal, and it appears one pundit has backed the player to do exactly that and stay put for the foreseeable future.
The Latest: Bruno backed for Newcastle stay
Speaking to Football Insider about the exit talk and Ashworth's plans, former Premier League defender Alan Hutton admitted Barca is a 'massive' link but backed Bruno to stay with the Magpies.
The BBC radio pundit said of the 24-year-old: "He runs games, I think he has really come in and hit the ground running. He is a fan favourite now, he is a huge part of what Newcastle are doing moving forward.
"There is a massive draw going to a team like Barcelona. They are well-renowned in football. But if I was him I would want to stay at Newcastle.
"You can see the direction that they are going in, what they are trying to achieve. We are not talking about a team that want top four, they want to go and challenge for the league. Obviously not this season but in future seasons that is where they see themselves.
"Huge stadium, the manager has done really well, the owners are going to back them and he is a big part of that moving forward. So why wouldn’t he want to be a part of that because they only way they are going is up."
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The Verdict: A key figure for Newcastle
This season has seen the 24-year-old, who will be hoping to be in Brazil's squad for the upcoming World Cup, show in the Premier League how useful and effective a midfielder he is for Eddie Howe's side.
In addition to having the joint-second highest passing success percentage (83.7%) in the squad, Guimaraes has also racked up the second-highest number of key passes (16) and passes into the 18-yard box (22).
Hailed by Howe for his "outstanding" performances this season, the midfielder also has the second-highest overall performance rating at Newcastle (7.39/10) from WhoScored.
Taking all that into account, it's clear that Guimaraes is a key figure for Newcastle, who will undoubtedly be hoping that he takes Hutton's advice and remains at St James' Park for a long time.