The summer has been rife with stories of Arsenal being keen on Bruno Guimaraes - but they are yet to show their hand
Bruno Guimaraes during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Brentford at St James' Park.
Arsenal interested in Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes. (Image: Michelle Mercer, Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Newcastle United expect Bruno Guimaraes to be back to work in early August, with the Brazil international now going into the final week of his holiday.
The South American star was handed an extended break after his World Cup adventure with Brazil, but his return date coincides with Newcastle's trip to La Manga and friendly clash with La Liga outfit Valencia on August 8.
Bruno is a target of Premier League champions Arsenal, who head to Ireland for pre-season, but as reported by Chronicle Live yesterday, for all the talk in the capital, Newcastle have not received official contact from the Gunners.
United chiefs are growing tired of leaks at the Arsenal end on Bruno, but Newcastle's stance remains that they don't want to sell the Brazil star.
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If Bruno hands in a transfer request, which he hasn't so far, Newcastle would then take on the role of tough negotiators and would hold out for a fee closer to £100m rather than the initial fees bandied around by the Arsenal end as low as an initial £45m and £60m.
The ex-Lyon man has at least two years left on his current deal, and there is a suggestion that Newcastle could trigger an extra year on the midfielder.
The Magpies are desperate to avoid any type of stand off like 12 months ago when Alexander Isak refused to return to pre-season training after spending the first week in Austria, before refusing to fly to the Far East for games in Singapore and South Korea, and ended up training alone in Spain.
Isak never trained with the main squad again after that and eventually pushed through his £125m move to Liverpool.
For Bruno, the expectation internally is that the 28-year-old is back in the first week of August, with head coach Eddie Howe keen to get him focused on the 2026/27 campaign.
High-placed sources have insisted to Chronicle Live that Newcastle are under "no pressure" to sell Bruno, and Arsenal face a fight to sign the player.
The suggestion from the Emirates Stadium is that Arsenal have a set valuation on all targets and won't budge on what they deem a fair price tag, hence why the Gunners stepped back from £117m Morgan Rogers.
Newcastle chiefs won't be daunted if Arsenal threaten to shut the door on their interest in Bruno because they don't want to sell anyway.
Whether Bruno pulls on a black and white shirt for the clash with Valencia at the Mestalla or four days later at Murrayfield against Everton remains to be seen.