The uncertainty surrounding Bruno Guimaraes’ future at Newcastle United shows no signs of slowing as Arsenal continues its pursuit of the club captain.
The Premier League champions finally submitted the first formal bid for Bruno on Thursday, worth £70 million, and now another claim has emerged indicating Guimaraes himself could soon make the biggest decision of the transfer saga.
According to Indykaila News, the Brazil international scheduled an emergency meeting with his representatives on Friday
to discuss whether submitting a formal transfer request is the best way to force through a move to Arsenal.
“Bruno Guimarães is in a tight spot,” Indykaila News reported. “Arsenal is ready to walk away if he doesn’t push for a transfer from Newcastle. The pressure is on him to demand a move, but Newcastle isn’t making it easy. If he submits a transfer request, he risks losing a significant loyalty bonus.
“He’s holding an emergency meeting tomorrow with his representatives to weigh his options.”
The report claims Arsenal is prepared to walk away from negotiations unless Guimaraes actively pushes for an exit, in a strategy that would see the Gunners placing all the pressure on the midfielder to force the issue and escalate the situation with Newcastle.
According to the report, however, submitting a transfer request could come at a high financial cost because Guimaraes would risk forfeiting a substantial loyalty bonus built into his Newcastle contract, as well as severing his good relationship with the club and turning this saga into another Alexander Isak-like situation.
While Newcastle has acknowledged Guimaraes’ desire to speak with Arsenal if a fee can be agreed, and the Magpies captain has already agreed personal terms with the Gunners, the Magpies have consistently maintained that their captain is not for sale and the club is expected to demand considerably more than Arsenal’s reported opening valuation, potentially up to £100 million.
As with previous Indykaila News reports, the latest claims should be treated with caution until corroborated by more established outlets, but for now there’s nothing very substantial about it as the outlet is not claiming Bruno has submitted a transfer request, just that he’s in the process of considering and discussing it with his camp. However, if the reported meeting really did take place, it could prove to be another significant moment in one of the summer’s biggest transfer stories. For now, we wait.
