Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes saga has taken another turn, with the club seemingly aware that the midfielder’s wish to join Arsenal, as he personally told them.
Sky Sports’ Keith Downie clarified on YouTube that Bruno personally told Newcastle he would like to pursue a move to Arsenal, even though the Premier League champion has still not made direct contact with the club.
“Bruno Guimaraes had basically told the club he wanted to leave, and he wanted to go to Arsenal,” Downie reported. “But I
said I didn’t know whether he’d done that directly or he’d done that indirectly. My information now is that it was directly.”
That is a major development because much of the noise around the potential transfer has come through agents and intermediaries rather than Arsenal itself, with Newcastle insiders basically denying anything and everything they heard in a series of delusional and stubborn reports to try to prevent Bruno’s exit.
“Newcastle are flabbergasted that Arsenal have yet to contact them, have yet to make a bid, and all the noise and all the traffic and everything regarding this is all coming through the agents, and of course, Bruno now has not just his normal agency, but there’s a super agent that’s been brought in,” Downie said.
Downie confirmed that Bruno is interested in the move, but warned that such a transfer will only happen under two conditions. Arsenal must make a firm offer, and Newcastle must receive what it considers a strong fee.
“Bruno has directly said he would like to pursue that opportunity, but it’s only on two grounds,” Downie said.
That may help Newcastle avoid an Alexander Isak-style standoff, or it could help foster a similar situation if the Magpies keep rejecting offers once they start arriving, dragging the negotiations into the deep days of the summer.
Downie, however, reported that Bruno will not force the issue if no agreement is reached. The motive is also important.
“It’s probably been wrongly reported by myself and others that it’s a financial decision, from what I’m hearing now, that this is a purely football decision from Bruno,” Downie said. “This is for him a footballing thing. Is he going to get more than that at Arsenal? Yeah, probably. He is probably going to get a bit more than that. Is he gonna get loads more than that? Probably not. But this, for him, is a footballing decision because he’s 29 in a couple of months and he wants to win trophies.
“He wants to win things.”
Newcastle still does not want to sell its captain, and his contract gives the club leverage. If Arsenal finally makes official contact, however, Eddie Howe and Ross Wilson may need to convince Bruno that Newcastle’s new project is still worth leading, something that doesn’t seem to be the case.
