Newcastle are looking at a former Premier League player, who hasn’t impressed much lately, to replace Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.
Newcastle is reportedly interested in signing a 31-year-old former Premier League midfielder to fill the gap left by Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.
This summer has been a big time of change at St James’ Park. Key players Guimaraes, Tonali, and Anthony Gordon have all moved on to Arsenal, Tottenham, and Barcelona. Plus, long-time coach Eddie Howe stepped down last week.
Howe’s replacement is German coach Matthias Jaissle, who’s 38 and has previously managed FC Liefering, Red Bull Salzburg, and most recently Al Ahli.
The Magpies have already brought in several new players during this transfer window, mostly young and relatively unknown talents like 20-year-olds Bouzoumana Touré, Aladji Bamba, and Ewen Jaouen from Hoffenheim, AS Monaco, and Stade Reims, respectively.
They also signed 18-year-old midfielder Sean Steur from Ajax and 24-year-old Czech goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek from Braga.
Most Newcastle fans probably didn’t expect the club to be linked with a 31-year-old midfielder, since they’ve been focusing on younger players with potential.
But on the evening of August 7, the Daily Mail reported that Newcastle is interested in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, a Denmark international who used to play for Tottenham and Southampton. He’s now playing in France with Marseille. Newcastle had also shown interest in him back in 2022 when he was still at Spurs.
Hojbjerg is seen as a ready-to-go starter who brings valuable experience to a relatively young squad. He’s played regularly in the Champions League with both Spurs and Marseille.
Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie says Newcastle could sign him for about £15 million.
This news came just hours after Newcastle’s sporting director Ross Wilson explained how the club didn’t want to lose Guimaraes, but the player wanted to join Arsenal.
Ross said, “Bruno was very clear with us that he wanted to leave, and while that doesn’t automatically mean he can go, it’s something we had to consider. It wasn’t part of our original plan to sell him this summer, but sometimes you have to adapt.”
Newcastle’s CEO David Hopkinson also spoke about the sale, saying he wished they could have gotten an even higher price than the £75 million paid.
He said, “Negotiations are tricky, and everyone is very experienced. The fee we got is the highest ever for a player of his position and age. It’s a good deal for Newcastle, and Arsenal are getting a special player too.”
Newcastle will kick off their 2026/27 Premier League season at home against Liverpool on August 23.