Eddie Howe privately believes that Newcastle United will sell Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal before the end of the summer transfer window, according to reports. Howe left Newcastle just 24 days before their Premier League season opener against Liverpool on August 23. Newcastle are now in advanced talks to replace Howe with Matthias Jaissle, head coach of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli.
Howe's exasperation over player sales
According to The Telegraph, Howe became ‘exasperated’ by Newcastle’s decision to sell Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon this summer. Tonali joined Tottenham in a deal worth up to £100 million, while Gordon made his £69.3 million switch to Barcelona before the World Cup.
Guimaraes to Arsenal
The report adds that Howe feels Newcastle will also sell club captain Guimaraes to Arsenal, who have already had offers of £55 million and £70 million rejected for the Brazil international. In his final interview as Newcastle manager after a 4-1 pre-season friendly defeat to Bristol City, Howe admitted he could not guarantee Guimaraes would stay.
‘Assurances… I don’t think you can push too hard for those. I think I’ve said many times you want players that are committed,’ Howe said. ‘Bruno’s always been committed here. His training performances, his game performances, have been outstanding. Every time he’s worn the shirt, he’s played with the fans by his side. I’d love to see that continue.’
‘I think we want to keep all of our best players. They’re so valuable, and as I said numerous times, there aren’t many of them, and to get them and develop them is so difficult. So when you have them, you want to keep them. And Bruno’s very much in that category, he’s an outstanding player.’
Newcastle's summer transfers
Newcastle have signed Bazoumana Toure from Hoffenheim for £43 million, Aladji Bamba from Monaco for £34 million, Sean Steur from Ajax for £23 million, and Ewen Jaouen from Stade Reims for £21 million. They have sold Sandro Tonali to Tottenham for £100 million and Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for £69.3 million.
Asked if Guimaraes’ transfer link is creating a negative mood at Newcastle, Howe said: ‘Any distraction, if it’s not healthy, is unhealthy. So, yeah. But we’re not in control of that. And to some degree, I don’t think Bruno’s in control of that either. What will be, will be. We can’t control the forces that are at play here, we’ve just got to make sure that when Bruno comes back, we look after him and he trains well, which I’m sure he will do. And he makes a difference as he always has done.’
