Newcastle reject Arsenal’s initial £55m transfer approach

Arsenal have made an initial approach to sign Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United, though their proposed £55m fee was quickly knocked back.

Over the last 24 hours, reports of Arsenal interest in Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes have hit the media, following Craig Hope and Tom Collomosse’s initial report for the Daily Mail.

That report revealed that Newcastle were braced for an approach from Arsenal, with the Gunners holding talks with the midfielder’s camp. The Mail added that Guimaraes was one of a handful of options Arsenal were monitoring as they considered whether to submit a formal offer.

Though the report went on to say that the player hasn’t indicated a desire to leave Newcastle, and club chiefs have told the representatives involved in talks that they don’t want to sell him.

This report has since been followed by an update from Fabrizio Romano that Arsenal did make a formal approach to Newcastle in the last 24 hours.

The Gunners indicated their intention to open talks for £55m, but Newcastle immediately rejected that proposal. Romano claims Newcastle want to keep the midfield, and they’ve told Arsenal they won’t sell for that fee.

But Romano added that it’s still possible Arsenal return again with a new offer, so this may not be the end of the story.

That suggestion is backed up by reports in Guimaraes’ home country of Brazil, with Bruno Cassucci reporting for Globo Esporte that Arsenal have already indicated that they’ll make a new offer.

Andrea Berta is reportedly leading negotiations, having previously tried to sign Guimaraes when he was still working for Atletico Madrid.

Back in Newcastle, Lee Ryder reports for ChronicleLive that Guimaraes’ current club have put a ‘not for sale’ tag on the player. This is described as their “opening stance”, and we’ve seen Newcastle make similar claims in the past only to end up selling. But that’s the situation as it stands.

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