Former Aston Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea chief Christian Purslow has told Arsenal to 'man up' and have a 'grown up conversation' with Newcastle over Bruno Guimaraes, insisting the Magpies do not have to sell their captain this summer.
Guimaraes has reportedly communicated his desire to join the Premier League champions, but Chronicle Live understands Arsenal have yet to engage in club-to-club contact with Newcastle.
Purslow's Verdict
Speaking on The Football Boardroom podcast, Purslow said: "In my opinion, Newcastle deep down know, long before this regime. Eddie knows, Eddie is old school. If a player has basically said they want to go, there are very few managers, even old school managers who would want to keep them."
"In fact there are old school managers like Pep Guardiola who instantly say: 'I want him gone'. Just a golden rule. I don't want anybody in the building who doesn't want to be here."
Comparisons to Isak
Purslow compared the situation to Alexander Isak's, saying Newcastle held on to the striker when Liverpool wanted him, got top dollar but missed out on top replacement targets. He warned against repeating that scenario.
"It is not a sale that is forced to comply with financial regulation. With Tonali and Gordon their financial regulations are now good. This is different. This is absolutely comparable to Alexander Isak," he added.
Asking Price
Newcastle will not consider bids of £70m-£75m for Guimaraes and believe £100m represents his importance. Purslow said the club's stance should be: "if you want to do it, this is the asking price, pay it, we are big boys and we will get on with it."
He predicted a "more grown-up chat behind closed doors" and that if Arsenal do not meet the price, the deal will not happen. Guimaraes is set to return to Newcastle on Friday before a training camp in Spain.
