Newcastle head coach Matthias Jaissle says Bruno Guimarães’ future had already been decided before he arrived, with Arsenal closing in on the midfielder.
Matthias Jaissle has admitted Bruno Guimarães’ future had already been decided by the time he took charge of Newcastle United.
The Brazilian midfielder is joining Arsenal, with the Gunners agreeing a fee in the region of £75 million for Newcastle’s captain.
Jaissle only arrived at St James’ Park this week and had little chance to influence the situation.
“I met him quickly but the decision was already made,” he told reporters.
"It was a nice conversation. He's a fantastic player and a great human being. It's tough but for him now it's the next challenge and we need to deal with it at a later stage."
His comments underline just how far along the process was before Newcastle’s new head coach had even settled into the job.
Guimarães was a defining figure under Eddie Howe, rising to captain, becoming a fan favourite and playing a central role as Newcastle returned to the Champions League and lifted the Carabao Cup.
The Magpies had no desire to see him go, but the situation shifted once Guimarães made his intentions clear.
Since then, Arsenal have pressed on with the deal. Guimarães is set to join a midfield already packed with talent: Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Martin Ødegaard, Eberechi Eze, Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Now, Jaissle faces the challenge of reshaping his plans without one of Newcastle’s most influential players.
He has already described Newcastle as a club in transition, acknowledging just how much has changed in a short space of time this summer.
“We lost a couple of really important players, but that’s also a chance,” he said.
“You can see it in a negative way that there’s a lot of challenges and we can search for excuses, but that’s not our idea.”
The German coach also made it clear that Newcastle are ready to be active in the transfer market before the new season kicks off.
“We have for sure capacity to do something on the market,” Jaissle said.
“Our sporting director is aware of that and then for sure when the season starts we see also new faces.”
Guimarães’ exit leaves a sizeable hole in the heart of Newcastle’s midfield.
He was the player Newcastle built their midfield around, bringing leadership, drive and defensive bite. Finding all of that in a single signing will not be easy, which is why Jaissle has spoken about broader changes rather than simply looking for a like-for-like replacement.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are coming at this transfer from a very different place.
Mikel Arteta is strengthening a title-winning squad, not rebuilding from scratch. Guimarães would arrive as a proven Premier League performer, expected to slot in and make an impact straight away.
That is what makes Jaissle’s comments so telling. There was never any late push from Newcastle’s new manager to change the course of the deal.
By the time he arrived, the decision was already out of his hands.