Former Newcastle United midfielder John Barnes says the Magpies will find it “difficult” to keep hold of captain Bruno Guimaraes.
The Magpies’ official stance is that the Brazilian is not for sale following a verbal bid from Arsenal. Barnes says the initial proposal was pretty insulting, but he expects that a move will happen if the Gunners come back with a big enough offer:
“Players are going to come and players are going to go, that’s modern football. However, £55m is a very low fee in my opinion, and if he was to move there, then he’d be a great signing for Arsenal, and it would be a great disappointment for Newcastle.”
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“As a former player, I still love Newcastle, and I hope he stays, but it’s going to be difficult for them to keep their best players. It would be a shame for him to leave because he’s very good, but it would be a great move for Arsenal.”
Guimaraes is ‘open’ to leaving
The fact that Arsenal made a bid at all suggests that they received enouragement from the player and his agent.
It had been previously reported back in March that there was a “verbal agreement” between Guimaraes and Newcastle that he could discuss a possible exit if the club failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Shields Gazette have since verified that Guimaraes is “open” to the possibility of leaving St James’ Park this summer, which will make it hard to keep hold of him.
Newcastle United will be hoping for offers from abroad
No Magpies fan wants Guimaraes to go, but they would be more willing to accept his departure if he moved to another country, in a similar fashion to Anthony Gordon.
Real Madrid and Barcelona have been mentioned as potential suitors in previous summers, but it does look like Arsenal are the only team in the running as things stand. There is, though, time for that to change.
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