Bruno Guimaraes has been linked with a move to Arsenal
Arsenal need to ‘man up’ and have a ‘grown up conversation’ with Newcastle over the transfer of Bruno Guimaraes and either hit the Magpies’ asking price or move on.
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That is the frank verdict of former Aston Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea chief Christian Purslow, who is adamant Newcastle do not have to sell their captain this summer.
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Guimaraes is said to have communicated his desire to join the Premier League champions this summer but, despite interest from the Gunners, Chronicle Live understands Arsenal are still yet to engage in club to club contact with the Magpies.
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It is a saga that has rumbled on for a few weeks now and the Brazil international is set to return to Newcastle on Friday before Eddie Howe’s side jet off to Spain for a week-long training camp in La Manga.
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Unlike Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali, who were sold to Barcelona and Tottenham respectively for a combined £169million, United had not planned for Guimaraes’ departure and were expecting him to lead the club’s new exciting young talent into the new season.
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But while Purslow believes Newcastle need to take a strong stance if and when that transfer offer arrives, he believes an ‘old school’ manager like Howe may well follow Pep Guardiola’s ‘golden rule’ of getting rid of any player who no longer wants to be at the club.
“In my opinion, Newcastle deep down know, long before this regime. Eddie knows, Eddie is old school. If a player has basically said they want to go, there are very few managers, even old school managers who would want to keep them,” Purslow said on The Football Boardroom podcast.
“In fact there are old school managers like Pep Guardiola who instantly say: ‘I want him gone’. Just a golden rule. I don’t want anybody in the building who doesn’t want to be here.
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“On Bruno, he has definitely signalled that he would like to go. I am sitting now in that boardroom, I am the new Newcastle United management regime, I am saying to myself we need to know one way or the other. We have learnt the lesson with Isak.
“It is not a sale that is forced to comply with financial regulation. With Tonali and Gordon their financial regulations are now good. This is different. This is absolutely comparable to Alexander Isak.
“Star striker, head turned by Liverpool. [Newcastle said] ‘We are not selling him. We are keeping him’. Guess what? Most of us thought if Liverpool want him, the boy was going to go.
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“They held on, they got top dollar but it was a disaster because by the time Isak was let go, they had missed out on their top five targets to replace him.”
But, of course, any sale would have to see Newcastle recuperated fairly. This summer has seen Elliot Anderson join Manchester City for £116million and Morgan Rogers move to Chelsea for £117million, while the Magpies themselves received £100million for Sandro Tonali.
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As such, Newcastle won’t even consider a bid of £70m-£75m for Guimaraes from Arsenal, as has been reported elsewhere and believe £100million represents his importance to the football club.
And while Purslow does not believe those other transfers should inflate Guimaraes’ price tag, he does believe Arsenal need to either put up or shut up at the price Newcastle want for the 28-year-old.
“It is a relevant factor but I don’t know if it inflates the fee,” Purslow added. “They don’t want Bruno to go. This would be a real loss. This is not a compliance with FFP, mature, grown-up conversation that I think Newcastle had with Anthony Gordon and between Villa and Morgan Rogers’ people.
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“This is your captain, your most popular player who is looking at another year not in the Champions League and the [Premier League] champions have expressed an interest in him.
“It is a good, old fashioned, it has happened throughout the ages, where a big club is trying to nick the best player from a less big club. I am sorry to use that old fashioned terminology but that is what we are talking about here.
“The player has said: ‘Do you know what? I fancy it’. And Eddie and the management at Newcastle, I think, know deep down it is going to be difficult to stop that happening.
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“They don’t want this to be another Isak where it plays out through the rest of July, strays into August and then they are left without Bruno in the last week of August before Arsenal get to the number.
“I think they will be saying to Arsenal if you want to do it, this is the asking price, pay it, we are big boys and we will get on with it and we will replace him, get a new person in and they will be in time for pre-season.
“That seems to be where it is headed and however sad that may be for Newcastle fans, the reality of football is that those sorts of deals have always happened and I think Newcastle are really irritated that it has been bubbling under through the media, through intermediaries.
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“I think they will be close to picking up to Arsenal and saying: ‘Look, man up, tell us what your number is if you want the player and we will tell you what the number is. If you hit the number it’s done, if not, go away politely and let’s get on with our lives’.
“There will be a conversation between Bruno and Newcastle’s representatives which will be: ‘We don’t welcome this, we really want the player to stay. We respect the fact he wants the move but only on our terms. Those terms are X and if Arsenal pay those terms, we will reluctantly have to agree to them. But one cent lower than that you are staying, Bruno’.
“And I think Bruno and his people will say: ‘Fair enough, let’s see if they will pay it’. In other words they won’t go to the next level. The next level would be more player agitation, trying to get your current club to accept a lower price than that club really wants.
“I don’t think we will see that here. I could be wrong but he really is a very popular player at the club, club captain, he doesn’t want to go down that road. You don’t see it that often.
“So my prediction is a much more grown-up chat behind closed doors and if they are not going to hit the price it won’t happen.”
