Arsenal Set to Sign Bruno Guimaraes for £80m

The longest-running transfer saga of the summer has finally broken its deadlock. After weeks of noise and silence in equal measure, Arsenal and Newcastle United have at last thrashed out a club-to-club agreement for Bruno Guimaraes.

The numbers are huge. The Brazil international is set to move for around £75 million, with performance-related add-ons pushing the deal towards £80m. That fee would make Guimaraes Arsenal’s third signing of the window, following the arrivals of Illan Meslier and Christos Tzolis, and one of the most expensive midfielders of his profile and age in world football.

The deal is not yet officially announced, but the people involved have stopped trying to hide what is coming.

Newcastle satisfied with fee – and the fight

Newcastle chief executive David Hopkinson lifted the curtain on the negotiations, hinting that Arsenal initially tried to drive a harder bargain.

"You're dealing with very sophisticated actors on each side," he said. "That's what negotiation looks like.

"It's a fee that satisfies us. If you want to put a merchandising spin on it, it's the highest fee for a player in that position at that age, and all those things come into play.”

That line tells its own story. Newcastle know they are losing their captain and their heartbeat, but they are not walking away empty-handed. They held their ground, forced Arsenal to come up to their price range and, in the end, got the kind of number that can reshape a summer.

Hopkinson did not try to dress it up as a one-sided victory, though. He all but rubber-stamped the transfer while acknowledging exactly what Arsenal are buying.

"Is it a good deal for Newcastle United? I believe it is," he said, "but Arsenal are getting a very special player and person."

Guimaraes’ decision and a tearful goodbye

Behind the boardroom haggling was a player who had already made up his mind.

Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson revealed that Guimaraes made his intentions clear in deeply emotional fashion, telling the club he wanted to join the Premier League champions. The Brazilian, captain and symbol of the project, said his goodbyes at the club’s pre-season training camp in Spain.

"What we had to weigh up was, very respectfully from Bruno with his behaviour towards us, very emotionally as well, he effectively told us he wanted to leave and move on," Wilson said.

That admission changes the temperature of any negotiation. When your captain looks you in the eye and says he wants to go, you can dig in, but only so far.

"That doesn't mean he can go," Wilson added, "but it certainly plays a part in what our thinking is when we hit a certain range of number.

"There's no part in saying it was part of our strategy and was in our thinking this summer - it wasn't."

So Newcastle pivoted. Not because they planned to, but because circumstances and a colossal offer forced their hand.

Arsenal, for their part, are closing in on a midfielder who can alter the feel of their entire side. Newcastle are bracing for life without the man who helped drag them back into the elite.

One club spends to stay on top. The other sells to keep climbing. The numbers are agreed. The emotions, on Tyneside at least, will take far longer to settle.