Bruno Guimaraes' Arsenal move is still being argued over in public, not settled in private. One set of reports has the deal moving towards north of £75m, while another says there has been no formal club-to-club contact. The only clear part so far is that Newcastle are not being dragged into a quick sale.

The fee ladder around the move

The numbers driving the story are easy enough to trace. Arsenal's opening bid was £55 million, Newcastle rejected a £70m proposal, and talkSPORT later reported a deal worth in excess of £75m.

That is a wide spread for a transfer that has not reached the point of agreement. It also explains why the reporting has become contradictory, with some outlets talking up progress and others insisting those claims are not true right now. Lee Ryder said of the situation: "Of course, we know #Arsenal are interested. But no bid, and suggestions there has been progress being described as 'not true' right now. Looks like this is going to drag on for a bit."

Newcastle's position on Guimaraes

Eddie Howe has not sounded like a manager expecting a quick resolution. He told metro.co.uk: "We've had some really good conversations, before the World Cup, during the World Cup and after the World Cup." He also said: "I don't know what's going to happen with Bruno's future. That's for other people to speculate about, but also conversations that I'm not part of."

The contract situation gives Newcastle room to resist. Guimaraes has two years remaining on his deal, and he is due to report for pre-season training on Friday. Howe has also been blunt about the club's wider stance: "We don't want to lose our best players, that's an obvious statement to make. So, losing those big two is painful for us, and difficult."

Bruno Guimaraes has also made the case for why he stays on the radar. He said on chroniclelive.co.uk: "Individually, I managed to have the season with the most goal contributions in my career, and I would trade all of that for a better position in the table."

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →