Arsenal have agreed a fee with Newcastle United to sign Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, bringing an end to one of the summer's major transfer sagas. Although neither club has officially announced the transfer, the 28-year-old is set to join the Gunners after club-to-club talks successfully concluded.
Newcastle chief executive David Hopkinson suggested that Arsenal had initially hoped to pay a smaller fee for the midfielder. "You're dealing with very sophisticated actors on each side," Hopkinson said, describing the negotiation process. "That's what negotiation looks like. It's a fee that satisfies us. If you want to put a merchandising spin on it, it's the highest fee for a player in that position at that age, and all those things come into play. It's worked from a financial perspective for both sides." He added that Arsenal are getting a "very special player" in a deal that includes "many bonuses" that Newcastle are keeping secret.
Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson confirmed that Guimaraes was "very emotional" when telling the club he wanted to join the Premier League champions. The captain bid a tearful farewell to his teammates and staff before leaving Newcastle's pre-season training camp in Spain. Wilson explained their decision-making: "What we had to weigh up was, very respectfully from Bruno with his behaviour towards us, very emotionally as well, he effectively told us he wanted to leave and move on. That doesn't mean he can go, but it certainly plays a part in what our thinking is when we hit a certain range of number."
Wilson admitted that selling the midfielder was not something they wanted to do. "There's no part in saying it was part of our strategy and was in our thinking this summer – it wasn't," Wilson explained. "But we have got to be flexible and react to things that happen." The transfer has sparked discussions about why Arsenal signed Bruno Guimaraes and what it means for Declan Rice and Myles Lewis-Skelly. Arsenal are expected to unveil Guimaraes today, amid other market movements such as Alvarez talks and Chelsea sealing a deal for Chavarria.
Beyond this transfer, discussions are ongoing predicting which clubs the summer's biggest free agents will sign for. Additionally, the Premier League has issued an official statement explaining why Tottenham were not awarded a penalty in their draw against Leeds. The decision denied the Spurs midfielder a big moment on his return from injurythe Premier League has explained why Tottenham were not awarded a penalty against Leeds as the clock ticked down, leaving James Maddison without a penalty call on his return.
