Newcastle say they “didn’t want to sell” Guimaraes, as Arsenal move looms

Bruno Guimaraes looks set to move to Premier League champions Arsenal, but Newcastle say they did not want to sell.Newcastle United did ‌not want to sell captain Bruno Guimaraes, sporting director Ross ⁠Wilson has said, after reports linked the Brazil midfielder with a move to Arsenal.British media reported on Wednesday that Arsenal had ⁠agreed a deal worth 75 million pounds ($101m) for the 28-year-old. Neither club has confirmed the reported transfer.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Argentina and Mexico back Infantino, deepening FIFA divide: What to knowlist 2 of 4Infantino, FIFA try to move beyond botched World Cup sell-off: What we knowlist 3 of 4UEFA’s threatened legal action against Infantino and FIFA: What we knowlist 4 of 4UEFA confirms legal letter served to FIFA after Infantino’s World Cup planend of list“We didn’t want to sell Bruno. It wasn’t in the plan to sell Bruno. None of us – or ownership – wanted to sell Bruno,” Wilson told reporters at Newcastle’s preseason training camp in Spain.“He’s our captain, he ‌was very important to us, and the debate over his price – it’s a world-record fee for a player of his age.“What we had to weigh up was, very respectfully from Bruno with his behaviour towards us, very emotionally as well, effectively told us he wanted to leave and move on.”Guimaraes, who joined Newcastle from French ⁠side Olympique Lyonnais in January 2022, has made ⁠195 appearances in all competitions and scored 31 goals for the Premier League club.He captained Newcastle to League Cup glory in 2025, ending the club’s long wait for domestic ⁠silverware.“There’s no part in saying (the transfer) 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,” Wilson said.“It might have been in our plan to sign one player, but we didn’t get him so we move ‌on to another. We can only be honest about that.”Guimaraes’s exit would be another setback for Newcastle following the departures of Anthony Gordon, ‌Sandro ‌Tonali and manager Eddie Howe.