The Newcastle United hierarchy are upset that Arsenal’s interest in Bruno Guimaraes is in the headlines, and they’re insisting he won’t be sold on the cheap.
Lee Ryder reports for Chronicle Live that Newcastle United chiefs are not thrilled that Arsenal’s interest in Bruno Guimaraes has made it into the headlines, while the Gunners were trying to do their homework on a potential price for the player.
Ryder adds that Guimaraes remains a crucial player to Newcastle’s project, and that he won’t be sold on the cheap.
It’s not exactly clear what Newcastle’s project is, at the end of a season in which they’ve dropped from 5th to 12th, lost all European football, and sold their top scorer for the second summer in a row. But apparently Guimaraes is very important to the next step.
Ryder reports that it’s believed that Newcastle’s willingness to do business more generally has led to Arsenal’s pursuit of Guimaraes. A potential £100m deal for Sandro Tonali was dismissed, but the Gunners followed up their enquiries over the Italian by asking about his midfield teammate.
The report stresses that there’s still been no official approach or enquiry from Arsenal to Newcastle directly, with everything going through intermediaries so far.
As for how the news hit the headlines, Kia Joorabchian probably played a part. Joorabchian is one of the intermediaries involved in talks, and Gunners supporters will be well aware of how most of the agent’s business ends up in the media.
On that note, Arsenal’s interest in Guimaraes should be viewed against the backdrop that the player has two years left on his contract in Newcastle.
That’s potentially part of the reason the Gunners might view now as a good time to move for him, but it’s also possibly a reason why an agent might want to play up Arsenal’s interest ahead of contract negotiations.
Until direct club-to-club contact begins and Arsenal submit an official offer, it’s hard to say how serious this pursuit really is.
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