Abdulhafiz TeslimNewcastle United have publicly addressed the sale of Bruno Guimarães for the first time, insisting Arsenal were forced to pay far more than they initially intended to secure the Brazilian midfielder.
The departure of the club captain has left Newcastle without one of their most influential players just days before the new Premier League season. Although the Magpies remain confident they will bring in a replacement before the transfer window closes, club officials admit losing such an important figure was never part of the original plan.
According to Newcastle CEO David Hopkinson, Arsenal spent around six weeks holding informal discussions through agents and intermediaries before making an official move. Their opening proposal was rejected after initially valuing Guimarães at just £45 million.
Newcastle eventually agreed to sell the midfielder for £75 million, with the full amount to be paid in two instalments and without performance-related bonuses or add-ons.
Speaking during Newcastle’s pre-season tour in La Manga, Hopkinson explained that Arsenal had hoped to negotiate a cheaper deal.
> “It was not the fee that I think Arsenal had hoped to pay and of course we would have liked an even higher number.
> “But I think you’re dealing with sophisticated actors on both sides and that’s what negotiation looks like.”
The transfer represents the highest fee ever paid for a player of Guimarães’ age playing in his position. Although Newcastle had reportedly valued him closer to £85-100 million, Hopkinson believes the agreement still represents excellent business, despite the club having to pay around £7 million to Lyon because of a sell-on clause.
He added:
> “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. Is that a good deal for Newcastle United? I believe it is.
> “But Arsenal is getting a very special player and special person so this works from a financial perspective for both sides.”
Newcastle have already strengthened their squad this summer with the arrivals of Bazoumana Toure, Aladji Bamba, Ewen Jaouen, Lukas Hornicek and Sean Steur, but the club insists more signings are still to come as new manager Matthias Jaissle continues reshaping the squad after last season’s disappointing 12th-place finish.
Hopkinson described the current transfer window as a major turning point for the club.
> “This is a moment of change. Life is all change but there are certain moments of punctuation and we’re in one of those moments of punctuation right now. Drawing attention to that is not something to be fearful of, it’s where we kick off.”
Sporting director Ross Wilson also admitted Newcastle never intended to sell Guimarães, stressing that the midfielder’s desire to leave ultimately influenced the club’s decision.
> “We didn’t want to sell Bruno. It wasn’t in the plan to sell Bruno. None of us — or ownership — wanted to sell Bruno. He’s our captain and he was very, very important to us.
Wilson praised the Brazilian’s professionalism throughout the process, revealing that Guimarães was honest and respectful when informing the club of his wish to move on.
> “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.
> “We’d love Bruno Guimarães to be in our squad this summer, but we have got to be flexible and react to things that happen.
> “Having such an important player leave is disappointing, but having a really important player who doesn’t want to play here anymore — for himself, he’s honest about that — it was the only decision we could make.”
With Guimarães now on his way to Arsenal, Newcastle’s attention turns to finding a worthy successor before the transfer window closes, as Jaissle looks to build a squad capable of returning the Magpies to the upper end of the Premier League table.
admin
Abdulhafiz Teslim
