Ross Wilson says Bruno Guimaraes wanted Arsenal move as £75m transfer nears completion
Newcastle United sporting director Ross Wilson said on 7 August 2026 that captain Bruno Guimaraes wanted to join Arsenal and that the Premier League champions are set to complete a £75m transfer after a breakthrough in talks this week. Wilson added the club had not planned to sell the 28-year-old.
Guimaraes joined Newcastle from Lyon in 2022 and bid a tearful farewell to his team-mates and to staff before leaving the club's pre-season training camp in Spain. He will be the fourth key player to move on in less than a year after Sandro Tonali joined Tottenham Hotspur, Anthony Gordon moved to Barcelona earlier in the window, and Alexander Isak went to Liverpool last summer.
Wilson said the decision was driven by the player's wishes: "What we had to weigh up was, very respectfully from Bruno with his behaviour towards us, very emotionally as well, he effectively told us he wanted to leave and move on," he said. "That doesn't mean he can go, but it certainly plays a part in what our thinking is when we hit a certain range of number."
Addressing the club's wider stance, Wilson added: "There's no part in saying it was part of our strategy and was in our thinking this summer - it wasn't. "But we have got to be flexible and react to things that happen." He described the situation as "very emotional" around the captain.
Newcastle chief executive David Hopkinson said Arsenal had initially hoped to pay a smaller fee after lower sums were floated for "a player who turns 29 in November", and acknowledged Newcastle would have liked "an even higher number". He added: "You're dealing with very sophisticated actors on each side," he said. "That's what negotiation looks like.
Hopkinson said the agreed figure met the club's requirements: "It's a fee that satisfies us. If you want to put a merchandising spin on it, it's the highest fee for a player in that position at that age, and all those things come into play. "Is it a good deal for Newcastle United? I believe it is, but Arsenal are getting a very special player and person. It's worked from a financial perspective for both sides."
Newcastle are active in the transfer market to find a replacement, having made five signings this summer of whom four were aged 20 and under; the club say they are looking for a midfielder with "a little more experience" and to make "a couple of further additions" before the window shuts on 1 September. Wilson warned they do not want to make "any mistakes by jumping to do something that we don't really want to do to tick a box".
Wilson described it as "disappointing" to see Guimaraes leave, but the club say the sale is agreed and recruitment work will continue as Newcastle aim to add experienced midfield reinforcements and further players prior to the 1 September transfer deadline.
