Newcastle United would need to spend nearly all of the £75million they are set to receive from Arsenal for Bruno Guimaraes to sign Victor Froholdt as his replacement, with Porto insisting on the release clause.
Release clause only
Chronicle Live understands the Magpies are guaranteed the full £75million transfer fee, with no add-ons. This will allow Newcastle to reinvest in their squad, with several replacements already identified before sanctioning the sale.
Aladji Bamba and Sean Steur have already arrived for around £60million to bolster the midfield after Sandro Tonali departed. The club now looks to replace Guimaraes.
Porto's stance
Danish outlet Bold credited Newcastle with an interest in Froholdt before the Premier League season ended. Arsenal and Liverpool were also linked. Two months on, Portuguese newspaper O Jogo claims the Magpies have approached the player's representatives, but have yet to contact Porto or present a proposal.
Porto's stance is widely reported in Portugal. Correio da Manha and O Jogo both report that Porto will turn down any offers, with the only way Froholdt leaves being through the £73million (€85million) release clause in his contract. That amount is nearly quadruple the £19million Porto paid Copenhagen a year ago.
Player's desire
Froholdt publicly expressed a desire to stay last weekend after scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Torreense to win the Portuguese Super Cup. He said: "People talk about taking the next step, but, for me, FC Porto is a huge club. I'm focused on the next game, for the championship. I like being here. Now, we are going all out for the championship."
Porto won their first Primeira Liga title in four years last season. Froholdt's impact was clear as he won the league's player of the year and young player of the year awards in his debut season. He also had a successful final season in Denmark, helping Copenhagen win the league and cup double, and was named Danish Superliga Young Player of the Year and later Danish Football Player of the Year.
