Matthias Jaissle, the newly appointed Newcastle United head coach, has revealed that the club had already resolved Bruno Guimaraes' future before he and the departing captain even spoke for the first time.

Arsenal are on the verge of completing a £75 million deal for the Brazilian midfielder, a transfer that has been grinding along for weeks. Jaissle briefly crossed paths with Guimaraes at Newcastle's training camp in Spain earlier this week, after which the 28-year-old said an emotional farewell to his team-mates and club staff.

"I met him quickly, but the decision was already made," Jaissle told reporters at his first press conference since taking charge. "It was a nice conversation. He's a fantastic player and a great human being. It's tough but for him now it's the next challenge and we need to deal with it at a later stage."

A squad in transition

Guimaraes is set to become the fourth high-profile departure from St James' Park in under a year. Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali have already left for Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur respectively this summer window, while Alexander Isak sealed a move to Liverpool last summer.

Club icon Alan Shearer has offered Jaissle his "very best wishes" but cautioned that the season ahead could be a "tough" one with "very challenging times" in store, in a column published by BBC Sport.

Jaissle, however, frames Newcastle's upheaval as the start of a new cycle rather than a crisis. "This is a challenge and there are so many transitions at the moment," he said. "Many big players left — legends of the club — but we need to see it as a chance. Control the controllables, I used to say, and I'm sure there will be progress this season."

A fresh, young roster takes shape

Newcastle have pivoted sharply in their recruitment strategy this summer, targeting younger, Continental talent. The club have invested approximately £146 million across five new arrivals: goalkeepers Lukas Hornicek and Ewen Jaouen, midfielders Aladji Bamba and Sean Steur, and winger Bazoumana Toure. Hornicek, at 24, is the oldest of the quintet — none of them have played in the Premier League before.

Jaissle himself arrives without Premier League experience, having built his reputation with trophy-winning campaigns at RB Salzburg in Austria and Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia. The 38-year-old is not treating that gap on his CV as a weakness. "At one point it has to be your first step and I'm now at that moment after being successful in Saudi Arabia and Austria," he said. "Everyone was dreaming about being a part of the Premier League and now here we are."

Newcastle open their Premier League campaign at home to Liverpool at St James' Park on 23 August.