Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson has admitted the club had no intention of selling captain Bruno Guimaraes this summer, despite the Brazilian midfielder edging closer to a �75 million move to Arsenal. The 28-year-old has not been officially confirmed as an Arsenal player but a deal is understood to have been agreed between the two clubs, with Guimaraes set to become the latest high-profile departure from St James Park in what has been a turbulent few months for the Magpies.Newcastle have already lost Anthony Gordon to Barcelona and Sandro Tonali to Tottenham during the window, while Eddie Howes resignation last week added further upheaval to a club in a period of significant transition. Matthias Jaissle was formally appointed as head coach on Wednesday.Speaking to reporters from Newcastles pre-season training base in Spain, Wilson was candid about the circumstances surrounding Guimaraes departure.We didnt want to sell Bruno. It wasnt in the plan to sell Bruno. None of us, or ownership, wanted to sell Bruno, he said.Hes our captain, he was very, very important to us and the debate over his price its 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.That doesnt mean he can go but it certainly plays a part in what our thinking is when we hit a certain range of number. But theres no part in saying it was part of our strategy and was in our thinking this summer it wasnt.But we have got to be flexible and react to things that happen. It might have been in our plan to sign one player but we didnt get him so we move on to another. We can only be honest about that. Topics Arsenal F.C. Bruno Guimaraes Newcastle United F.C. Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read BREAKING: Vinicius Junior signs Real Madrid contract until 2032 Ben Miller 6th August, 2026 Newcastle boss Jaissle reveals Guimaraes future decided before he arrived Mitch Fretton 6th August, 2026 BREAKING: Vinicius Junior on verge of signing new Real Madrid contract Mitch Fretton 6th August, 2026 Arsenal receive financial injection after striking new deal with Emirates Jon Fisher 6th August, 2026 Arsenal 1-3 Betis: Report and goals as pundit claims Arteta will be concerned Ben Miller 5th August, 2026 Arsenal vs Betis live: Riquelme scores with Kepa atrocious Ben Miller 5th August, 2026
