Newcastle insist captan Bruno Guimaraes is not for sale having rejected an offer from Arsenal.
The Gunners are reported to have bid £55million for the Brazil international as they look to strengthen the midfield that helped them win the Premier League title last season.
According to local reports, Newcastle say Guimaraes is not for sale at any price as they battle to retain their top players. Anthony Gordon has already left for Barcelona while Sandro Tonali is the subject of interest from Tottenham among others.
And while there was an acceptance that Gordon had to leave to finance a squad rebuild – and a fee of £70m was remarkably good business for a player whose stats fail to back up the reputation – and that Tonali may want to leave to further his own career, Guimaraes is seen as a player key to Newcastle’s future.
The 28-year-old has spoken of his love for life on Tyneside but it has been reported that his representatives are in England testing the waters for a potential move and have spoken to Arsenal.
The North London club obviously received enough encouragement from those discussions to make a bid for Guimaraes and they are expected to return with an increased offer in the coming days.
Newcastle can’t afford to get it wrong again this summer
Guimaraes has two years left on his contract and has made 153 league appearances for the club, scoring 30 goals and adding 25 assists.
After a woeful summer last year that saw Newcastle lose Alexander Isak to Liverpool and then spend over £200m on the likes of Nick Woltemade, Anthony Elanga, Yoane Wissa and Jacob Ramsey, the pressure is on boss Eddie Howe and the recruitment team to get it right this close season.
They have already lost out on Spain winger Victor Munoz despite Newcastle agreeing a fee with his previous club Osasuna. Munoz instead joined Liverpool and explained working under the Reds’ new boss Andoni Iraola was a key factor in his decision.
“It was an opportunity you can’t pass up,” Munoz explained. “He [Iraola] transmitted his confidence to me, the way his team plays… he played an important role in my decision.
“It all happened very quickly. I’ve been focused on the World Cup. I didn’t want to hear much about my future unless it was something concrete.”
