Newcastle make contact for £73m midfielder as Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal ‘completely done’ | OneFootball

Newcastle United have moved to replace Bruno Guimaraes by contacting the representatives of Porto midfielder Victor Froholdt, according to a report.

Guimaraes looks set to be the next top star to leave Newcastle after the likes of Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali. The Magpies will enter a new era this summer as Matthias Jaissle has agreed to replace Eddie Howe as head coach following the Englishman’s decision to leave.

ESPN Brasil journalist Bruno Andrade claimed on Monday that Arsenal have agreed an £80million deal with Newcastle for Guimaraes.

“Bruno Guimaraes has been a done deal for Arsenal since the weekend,” he said.

“I know a lot of people are reporting different information, but I trust the people I’ve spoken to.

“The key part of the agreement – the £80m package – has already been agreed.

“What I heard earlier today is that Newcastle were furious that news of the agreement had leaked.

“They decided to drag things out a little, not over the money, because that part is completely settled… It’s much more about the timing of the announcement.

“The original plan was to do everything together; there simply wasn’t enough time to make that happen.

“Guimaraes is done, completely done. He is Arsenal’s new signing.”

Aladji Bamba and Sean Steur are two midfielders who have already joined Newcastle this summer, and Danish star Froholdt could be next.

Portuguese newspaper O Jogo report that Froholdt’s entourage has been ‘contacted’ by Newcastle officials, who are trying to gauge how much the operation will cost and whether the 20-year-old is open to moving to the Premier League.

Victor Froholdt to Newcastle appears tricky

Should Newcastle get the green light from Froholdt, then they will open formal talks with Porto.

However, this looks like a very difficult transfer to pull off at this stage.

The report explains how Froholdt wants to continue his development by spending another year in Portugal before he considers a major transfer to an elite European league.

Plus, Porto want to keep the player for at least another season. As such, they will demand his full €85m (£73m) release clause this summer.

Froholdt was recently tipped to become the first signing of the Jaissle era for Newcastle, though they would have to put on a big charm offensive to agree this particular deal.

Tyler Adams is a solid alternative Newcastle are considering. Manchester United have cooled their interest in the Bournemouth star, which represents a boost for Newcastle.

The Toon are simply monitoring Adams’ situation as things stand, and they could step up their interest if other targets such as Froholdt prove unattainable.

Adams could be the better signing anyway. He already has Premier League experience, unlike Froholdt, and is available for the far better price of £35-40m.