Newcastle United have set their sights on signing a new midfielder after selling Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal.
The Magpies were reluctant to lose Brazil international Guimaraes, who has developed into a fans’ favourite at St James’ Park over the past four seasons.
But Arsenal’s strong push for the 28-year-old and Guimaraes’ desire to leave forced Newcastle to sell for a fee of £75m.
Newcastle have welcomed two midfielders to the club, 20-year-old Aladji Bamba and 18-year-old Sean Steur, but neither are seen as direct replacements for Guimaraes.
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New boss Matthias Jaissle wants a more experienced midfielder to arrive at St James’ Park, hence why Newcastle recently expressed interest in former Tottenham captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
But BBC Sport say Hojbjerg is ‘only one of a handful of options Newcastle are considering’ for Jaissle, who has replaced Eddie Howe in the hot-seat.
A separate report from the Daily Mail says Newcastle have made an approach to sign Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba.
Jaissle is said to be an ‘admirer’ of Baleba, who was close to joining Manchester United this time last year only to stay on the south coast.
United were widely tipped to revive their interest in Baleba this summer but turned to other options, signing Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa.
Michael Carrick remains open to signing a third new midfielder but the £35m deal for Tielemans is already the best buy of the summer, according to Nicky Butt.
‘I think Youri Tielemans is the best signing of the transfer window,’ Butt said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, sponsored by Midnite.
‘Looking at his fee, his age, his experience – he’s played in the Champions League and World Cups and he’s a great footballer. I think that’s a brilliant signing for Manchester United.’
Asked who he rates as the best signing of the summer transfer window, Butt added: ‘I think it’s Youri Tielemans.
‘If he was up at £70m or £80m I would give you a different answer but you need to look at the value for money.
‘If Manchester United get the right players around him I think he will be the best summer signing.’
Jaissle’s first Premier League game in charge of Newcastle United will be a tricky clash against Liverpool on the opening weekend of the season.
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