Arsenal are reportedly willing to abandon their move for Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes after being misled about the price they would have to pay. The Brazilian had emerged as a priority target for the North London side over recent days, with Mikel Arteta keen to add to his midfield options.
It was suggested that Arsenal were mulling over a move for Guimaraes after he had requested to leave St James' Park this summer. There were then further reports claiming that he had agreed to a five-year deal with Arsenal.
But it appears that a summer switch has been put on hold for now, with some miscommunication over the price that the North London side will have to pay having put doubts into the minds of Arsenal chiefs.
Miscommunication Over Transfer Fee
According to The Telegraph, the Gunners were of the opinion that an offer of around £50 million would be enough to convince Newcastle to sell after being told as such by his representatives. That does not appear to have been the case, with the Magpies demanding around £100 million after already selling Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon this summer. Arsenal will not pay that much and are apparently ready to move on.
Former Newcastle owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi has spoken out on the current situation, slamming the suggestions as "utter nonsense."
Guimaraes Remains a Newcastle Player
For the time being, Guimaraes remains a Newcastle player, with his contract set to run until 2028, albeit with an option for a further season. It was previously suggested that Arsenal's Premier League rivals Manchester United had agreed a deal to sign him, albeit Eddie Howe moved to deny those rumours at the time.
Howe said: "I don't even know how to respond to that. I don't even think I should because it's a waste of my energy. I'm not going to be impolite because I don't think it's the forum to do that in. For me it's a nonsense story. Bruno's our captain, he's fully committed. He's injured at the moment, his only focus is coming back to fitness. For me, it is not the time to think about it.
"In the summer, you can understand those stories a little bit more because the transfer window is open. To say our captain is in discussions with another club is totally disrespectful to Bruno more than anything else. He is totally committed here."
