Sources raise "very odd" element of Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal transfer saga | OneFootball

Sources have reportedly described Arsenal’s transfer strategy in their pursuit of Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes as “very odd”.

According to the Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, there is some confusion so far about the Gunners’ efforts to sign Guimaraes, as they have supposedly not yet made any kind of contact with Newcastle about a deal.

See below as Edwards says sources are surprised, with no offers or bids made, and everything being done via intermediaries so far, despite this being such an important player for Newcastle…

“Newcastle United have – as of this afternoon – still had no contact with Arsenal over Bruno Guimaraes,” the journalist posted. No offers, no bids, no conversations to even ask about his availability or to explore what a deal could look like.

“Described by sources as “very odd” given all the noise that has been generated the last couple of weeks. What is clear is that there is a huge gap between what Newcastle have been told – via intermediaries acting on their behalf – Arsenal would be willing to pay for Bruno and #nufc valuation of their captain and most important player.”

What’s really going on with Arsenal’s pursuit of Bruno Guimaraes?

Despite what Edwards has said, numerous sources, including those who’ve spoken to CaughtOffside in recent days, have reliably informed us that Arsenal have had two bids rejected by Newcastle for Guimaraes.

This implies some level of contact between the two clubs, but it is possible that these discussions have mainly taken place via intermediaries so far.

We cannot confirm that either way for the moment, but it’s also worth saying that this is not exactly anything abnormal in terms of how transfer business tends to be conducted.

Some direct and formal contacts will likely take place eventually once things get more advanced, if they haven’t already.