Earlier this week we reported that Newcastle were already heading into a new phase under Eddie Howe. Now the conversation has shifted from results to relationships, after Bruno Guimarães paid a public tribute to Howe and the head coach answered with a calm but non-committal line on the captain’s future.
Howe stepped down after Newcastle’s 4-1 defeat to Bristol City in pre-season. Guimaraes was absent from that match, and he is yet to return from his holiday after extra time off following his World Cup efforts with Brazil.
Guimaraes’ message to Howe
Guimaraes did not hold back. “King of this club! Thanks for everything you've done for us. I loved our time together. You made me a better player and person,” he said. He added that Howe gave him the honour of being captain and called him “one of the best managers I've ever had.”
That is a strong public farewell, and it lands at a time when the captain’s future is not settled. Howe, for his part, did not offer any guarantee. “What will be, will be,” he said. “We can't control the forces that are at play here.” He also said Guimaraes has always been committed and that he would love to see that continue.
Why the uncertainty has not gone away
The football side of this story is still unresolved. Arsenal are interested in signing Guimaraes this summer, but the clubs have not yet agreed terms. That keeps the door open without saying where it leads.
Newcastle’s recent league form has also made the timing more sensitive. They went through a mixed five-game run of L W D W L, finished 12th in the 2025 Premier League, and have Liverpool, Tottenham and Bournemouth next in the league. None of that proves a sale is coming, but it does show why the club’s summer feels bigger than one farewell post.
There has also been talk that Howe’s departure was partly linked to a feeling that Guimaraes would be sold to Arsenal. That remains reported speculation rather than established fact. What is established is simpler: Howe is gone, Guimaraes has praised him in public, and Newcastle now have to deal with the captain’s future on top of a managerial change that has already arrived.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
