Arsenal have finally moved beyond speculation and opened formal negotiations for Newcastle captain Bruno Guimarães, though their first bid for the Brazilian midfielder has been turned down by the Magpies.
The two clubs are now understood to be in direct dialogue over a deal, but a significant gap remains between their respective valuations. Arsenal's hierarchy reportedly regard £70m as the ceiling for the 28-year-old, and an offer around that figure was swiftly rejected on Monday. Newcastle, by contrast, are said to be holding out for a fee in the region of £80m, though reports suggest a package worth somewhere between £75m and £80m could be enough to unlock a transfer.
Guimarães, who still has two years remaining on his Newcastle contract, returned to pre-season training at the club's camp in La Manga following a break in Brazil after the World Cup. Rather than travelling to London for a medical, as had been speculated, he instead flew to Spain to link up with his teammates, arriving a day after the rest of the squad following an extended rest period.
While at the training camp, Guimarães met Newcastle's incoming head coach Matthias Jaissle for the first time. The 38-year-old, who previously managed Al-Ahli and RB Salzburg, has been working with the squad since the weekend despite his appointment as Eddie Howe's successor not yet being officially confirmed, with some administrative details still to be finalised. Jaissle is reportedly keen to gauge the mindset of his captain as he prepares the team for the opening Premier League fixture at home to Liverpool in a fortnight.
Unlike Alexander Isak's contract standoff last year that eventually forced through his British record move to Liverpool, Guimarães is not expected to take a similar approach in pushing for his own exit. Nevertheless, there is a belief that he intends to make clear to Jaissle his desire to join Arsenal should the two clubs agree on a fee.
Newcastle find themselves under no real pressure to sanction a sale this summer. The club has already lost Anthony Gordon to Barcelona and Sandro Tonali to Tottenham, and would prefer to retain Guimarães's leadership and quality as Jaissle begins reshaping the squad following Howe's surprise departure.
Despite the outgoing business, Newcastle have been active in the transfer market themselves. Monday saw the club complete a £26m move for goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek from Braga, a signing expected to see him replace Nick Pope as first-choice stopper, with Pope now expected to depart. The 24-year-old Czech international impressed during Braga's run to the Europa League semi-finals last season, keeping seven clean sheets, and at 6ft 6in is regarded as an imposing presence with strong distribution skills suited to Newcastle's style of play. Hull City had also been keen on signing Hornicek last month, but he opted against a move to the newly promoted side.
Hornicek's arrival makes him Newcastle's fifth signing of the summer, following goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen, winger Bazoumana Toure, and midfielders Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba.
In a separate development that underlines shifting fortunes between the two clubs, Newcastle have also completed the signing of 16-year-old winger Kyran Thompson from Arsenal. Thompson, who had also attracted interest from Tottenham, thanked his former club on social media before the move to St James' Park was confirmed.
Based on reporting from The Guardian and The Standard.