Bruno Guimaraes shaking hands with Alexander Isak
Bruno Guimaraes shaking hands with Alexander Isak
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Former Newcastle United midfielder Jermaine Jenas believes his former club are walking into another Alexander Isak 'situation' this summer when it comes to the future of their captain Bruno Guimaraes.
Guimaraes has told Newcastle he wants to leave the club and join Arsenal this summer but there has been no club to club contact over his sale.
The Magpies insist the Brazilian international is not for sale but the Gunners are confident they can land the 28-year-old this summer, fresh off the heels of Sandro Tonali's move to Tottenham Hotspur and Anthony Gordon joining Barcelona.
And Jenas believes Guimaraes would have look at those two sales and questioned Newcastle's direction of travel, despite the fact the Magpies have landed some exciting young signings.
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Bazoumana Toure and Ewen Jaouen, both 20, have already joined the club this summer while 18-year-old midfielder Sean Steur's move from Ajax to St James' Park was announced on Thursday.
Johan Manzambi could join them on Tyneside, too, but Jenas does not believe Newcastle's new transfer direction of targeting new talent will be enough to convince Guimaraes to remain at the club this season.
"They need to go mad in the market, but I really don't see how they do it at all," Jenas told 10bet." There are a couple of players they've been linked with who are very good prospects.
Jermaine Jenas
Jermaine Jenas (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
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"But when I look at Bruno Guimaraes, his age, and where he's at in his career – plus what he has already done for Newcastle – I just sense an Isak situation coming again.
"Unfortunately for him, there is a lot of talent that has already left, and he's almost like the last of the big dogs out the door. They might make his life very difficult, but they're not doing enough.
"If I was Bruno Guimaraes, I'd be looking around going, "What's the plan here?" Because he should be playing Champions League football week in, week out, and every year that he's not, he's wasting part of his career.
"He has been a very loyal servant. You never hear anything coming out of his mouth in terms of demands, and he has always been very well-behaved at the football club.
"You can't always say that about some foreign players when they go away on international duty and talk to the local press to get stories out. He hasn't done that. It's sad for Newcastle, but I don't think they can do enough to keep him personally."