"Here we go" - Arsenal to miss out on Hjulmand transfer after Fabrizio Romano's morning update | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid are reportedly closing in on the transfer of Sporting Lisbon defensive midfielder Morten Hjulmand in a €40m deal.

The Denmark international has shone during his time in Portugal, and it’s no surprise that he’s now been snapped up by a big club in a more competitive league.

We’ve previously been informed that Arsenal were among the clubs to ask about Hjulmand, and it makes sense as the Gunners have been in the market for a new midfielder.

With Hjulmand now moving for just €40m, according to Fabrizio Romano, it arguably looks like Arsenal have missed out on a pretty good deal, with Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes likely to cost a lot more than that…

Posting on X this morning, Romano said: “BREAKING: Morten Hjulmand to Atlético Madrid, here we go! Sporting and Atléti agreed all terms and start paperwork exchange today for €40m fee plus add-ons. Danish midfielder joins until June 2031 and he will fly to Madrid TODAY.”

This can basically be treated as a done deal at this point, barring any late surprises, so Arsenal will now have to hope moves for other targets come off.

Arsenal focusing on Guimaraes but could Hjulmand have been better?

Guimaraes is Premier League-proven, and it’s fair to say that clubs might justifiably feel it’s worth paying extra for that as you never know how a player from the Portuguese league will adjust to the big step up in terms of both quality and physicality in the English top flight.

Ultimately, it remains to be seen how much AFC end up paying for Guimaraes if they do get him, but in a post yesterday Romano suggested it could go as high as £90m…

If it’s closer to £65-70m, then that would be good business for the Premier League champions, but any higher than that and it’s a huge sum for a player who’s turning 29 later this year.