Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes has been linked with a summer move to Arsenal, but former Magpies winger Chris Waddle believes the club can price the Premier League champions out of a deal by demanding a hefty transfer fee. Waddle has cast doubt over whether Arsenal will push the boat out to sign a player he feels they do not really need.
Guimaraes informs Newcastle of desire to leave
News emerged last week that Guimaraes had informed Newcastle of his desire to leave the club to join the Gunners. However, as of yet, there has been no club-to-club contact from Arsenal over a transfer. Talks between intermediaries have been held, with the Guimaraes camp receiving encouragement that a deal could be done around the £50-60 million mark.
Newcastle insists the 28-year-old is not for sale this summer and a fee of £100 million would be required for the Magpies to reconsider that stance. Even at £50-70 million, Waddle believes clubs will be put off paying that kind of money for the Brazil international midfielder, given he has two years left on his contract and will turn 29 before the year is out.
Waddle questions Arsenal's interest
"For a lot of players, a World Cup is a shop window," Waddle told 10bet. "Years ago, they used to say if you have a good World Cup, you'll get a lot of clubs after you. I think he's done okay, though I wasn't that impressed with Brazil, to be honest. He has a great engine, he's tidy, and he keeps the ball well. I can see why he fits into a lot of teams."
"Going into that tournament, him and his agent will have known if he wants to leave Newcastle, and clubs will have been in touch with his agent after watching him. I believe he has about two years left on his Newcastle contract, so he might be looking for a four-year contract somewhere else – probably the last biggest pay day of what is left in his career."
Contract situation and transfer fee
"Unless Newcastle upgrade his contract, you could see him leaving. I'm sure clubs are interested, but because he has two years left, Newcastle can demand a hefty price. That might stop a lot of clubs because they'll question if he's worth that much money. If Newcastle are looking for £50m or £60m, there are not going to be many clubs that will pay that for a player his age."
"I don't get Arsenal. They've got a big squad as it is, and I just don't understand why they keep getting linked with these players. Mind you, it could just be his agent pushing stories. I'm surprised Arsenal are linked with him."
Financial return concerns
"He's nearly 30 and he's going to want at least a four-year contract, so I don't see where that story has come from. There will be clubs interested if the price is right, but because he'll want a long contract, not many clubs will do that without getting any financial return on the investment down the line."
"You don't want to pay £50m, £60m, or £70m for someone you're not going to get anything back on. It will be interesting to see what happens."
