Manager Admits He is Powerless to Stop Arsenal Signing ‘Complete’ Player
Howe Admits He is Powerless to Stop Arsenal Signing Guimaraes
One club boss has admitted he is powerless when it comes to the potential blocking of an Arsenal transfer this summer. The Gunners are now looking to ramp up their summer business with a couple of statement signings, with Mikel Arteta hoping to address a couple of key areas.
Arteta and Andrea Berta want a new number 8 and a new left-winger, and it seems as though they are closer to ticking off the former of those two needs. The Gunners have been heavily linked with a move for Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes for much of the summer, and recent reports suggest they are ready to up their efforts in the form of formal talks.
Newcastle have already sold Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon this summer, and the loss of Guimaraes, will be damaging, so they are likely to ask for North of £80million, while Arsenal are expected to start their bidding at around £70million. The Gunners must balance their spending to make sure they can also sign a new winger, which will not come cheap, but Guimaraes represents a big opportunity to get a top midfielder who is Premier League-proven.
Eddie Howe has no say in Guimaraes sale
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe looks on glumly
Fortunately for Arsenal, they will exclusively be negotiating with Newcastle club chiefs, and the one man who is likely to choose to keep the player over taking the money will not have any say.
Eddie Howe admitted to the Chronicle: “Look, I don’t know what’s going to happen with Bruno’s future. That’s for other people to, one, speculate about, but also conversations that I’m not part of.”
That is a frustrating position for a manager to find himself in, and Howe admitted to being frustrated by the potential of Guimaraes leaving, especially having already lost Tonali and Gordon this summer. He added: “Losing those big two (Gordon and Tonali) is painful for us and difficult. For me, it’s been another challenging summer so far.”
Newcastle have spent big over recent times, and the sales are part of a Financial Fair Play equation that threatens to leave them in a precarious position after this missed out on Champions League qualification, and the subsequent revenue that would have brought. In fact, the Magpies missed out on European qualification completely in what was a major blow.
Arsenal getting their man feels inevitable
Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes celebrates vs Crystal Palace via Reuters
Arsenal are closing in on Guimaraes, who has been described as a ‘complete midfielder’ by Jamie Carragher, and even with their opening bid likely to be around £10million short of the price Newcastle will realistically accept, it’s unlikely the Gunners will allow £10million to stand between them and a proven player like Guimaraes.
Arteta wants a clear midfield upgrade, and there simply aren’t many top-level number eights out there. There are even less who are for sale, and even less who are for sale and ready to be plugged and played, as Guimaraes is, as a player who has a wealth of Premier League experience.
