"Losing them is painful for us, and difficult." Eddie Howe said that about Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali — but he might as well be rehearsing for the next conversation, because Arsenal are coming for Bruno Guimarães.
After a £55 million opening offer was rejected, the Gunners have returned with an improved bid of £70 million. Reports suggest Guimarães has already agreed personal terms with Arsenal. Newcastle are running out of road here.
A squad being stripped piece by piece
Gordon left for Barcelona on a five-year deal. Tonali joined Spurs in a club-record £100 million move. Alexander Isak departed for Liverpool last September. Newcastle finished 12th and missed Europe entirely. That is the context in which Howe is now trying to hold onto his best remaining midfielder.
Guimarães has been at St James' Park since January 2022, made 195 appearances, and was central to the Carabao Cup win in 2024-25 — Newcastle's first domestic trophy in 70 years. He is not a rotation player or a squad filler. He is the engine. Replacing him is not a like-for-like problem.
Howe was careful with his words after Newcastle's 1-1 preseason draw with Gateshead: "I don't know what's going to happen with Bruno's future. That's for other people to speculate about, but also conversations that I'm not part of." He also called Guimarães "a great player, a great person" — notably offering no public push for him to stay.
What this means beyond the transfer fee
If Guimarães goes, Newcastle's Premier League relegation odds will shift sharply. A midfield without him, after also absorbing the losses of Tonali and Gordon, is not a top-half midfield. Howe has spoken about trying to shape the squad for both "short and long-term" — but you cannot build long-term plans on a foundation that keeps getting dismantled every summer window.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are assembling quietly. If they land Guimarães alongside their other business, their title odds look increasingly hard to dismiss heading into the new season.
For Newcastle, Howe put it plainly: "We don't want to lose our best players." The problem is, right now, their best players don't seem to want to stay.
