Newcastle United drop major hint regarding Bruno Guimaraes’ future amid Arsenal reports
Plans to sign a new midfielder for incoming Newcastle United boss Matthias Jaissle have already got under way. Reports suggest the new head coach is involved with contingency plans should Bruno Guimaraes leave in the coming weeks.
Jaissle isset to be confirmed as Eddie Howe’s successor at St James’ Park, and the German coach is already in La Manga for the Magpies’ pre-season training camp.The 38-year-old joins from Al Ahli with less than three weeks remaining until the start of the Premier League season.
Newcastle have added midfielders Sean Steur, 18, and Aladji Bamba, 20, from Ajax and Monaco, respectively, this summer. Neither can be expected to fill the hole that would be left by Newcastle captain Guimaraes, such is his significant influence on the team.
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Rumours over Guimaraes’ prospective move to Arsenal continue to emerge. Chronicle Live understands that a reported £80.4million deal had not been agreed and no official bid had been made on Saturday.
Jaissle is expected to hold talks with Guimaraes, who is set to jet out to La Manga on Sunday to join up with his team-mates. Whether the new coach can be persuasive enough to keep the Brazilian content at St James’ Park may be another matter.
It has been suggested that Guimaraes is set for a medical with Arsenal as soon as Monday. The former Lyon midfielder is claimed to be poised to put pen to paper on a five-year contract with the north London club.
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Among the midfielders Newcastle have been linked to this summer are Borussia Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha, Japan international Kaishu Sano, Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller and Sweden stars Hugo Larsson and Lucas Bergvall.
Ahead of confirmation of Jaissle’s appointment, the transfer of Lukas Hornicek was completed after the goalkeeper passed his medical in Spain. The 24-year-old joins Newcastle in a £25.7m deal after the club activated his release clause with Braga.
The move was sanctioned by new boss Jaissle despite being in the works during Howe’s time at the club. The move was pushed through after talks intensified from Wednesday onwards.
Hornicek is set to become Newcastle’s new No.1, with Nick Pope and Eqen Jaouen serving as back-ups. Pope’s future is set to be the topic of discussion in the coming weeks having previously been linked to Ipswich Town and Leeds.
