Newcastle United manager Matthias Jaissle says a decision about Bruno Guimaraes’ future had already been taken by the time he first met the club’s departing captain.

Arsenal are set to complete their protracted £75m move for the midfielder after a breakthrough in discussions.

Jaissle briefly spoke to Guimaraes at the club’s training camp in Spain earlier this week, but the 28-year-old went on to bid an emotional farewell to his team-mates and club staff.

“I met him quickly, but the decision was already made,” Jaissle said in his first meeting with reporters following his appointment as head coach.

“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.

“We trust the players who are here already, but we will also see some changes.”

Guimaraes is set to become the fourth key player to leave Newcastle in less than a year.

Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali moved to Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur respectively earlier in the window while Alexander Isak joined Liverpool last summer.

Club legend Alan Shearer has sent Jaissle his “very best wishes”, but previously warned it could be a “tough season” with some “very challenging times ahead” in a column for BBC Sport.

Jaissle, though, sees the club’s rebuild as an opportunity to start a new cycle and mould a young, hungry side after succeeding predecessor Eddie Howe.

“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.

“Not having too many excuses now, just thinking forward about what we can influence.

“Control the controllables, I used to say, and I’m sure there will be progress this season.”

Jaissle has been focused on coaching the players currently at his disposal on the training pitches, but Newcastle are working on further additions before the start of the season.

Newcastle have shifted policy this summer, targeting younger players on the Continent, with Lukas Hornicek the club’s oldest arrival by a reasonable distance at 24 years of age.

The club have spent around £146m to date on goalkeepers Hornicek and Ewen Jaouen, midfielders Aladji Bamba and Sean Steur and winger Bazoumana Toure.

The quintet, like Jaissle, have never experienced life in the Premier League before.

However, following trophy-laden spells in Saudi Arabia and Austria with Al-Ahli and RB Salzburg, the 38-year-old is relishing the challenge ahead.

“This is something I don’t have on my CV, but that’s normal in football,” he said.

“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.

“Everyone was dreaming about being a part of the Premier League and now here we are.”

Newcastle start the new campaign against Liverpool at St James’ Park on 23 August.

Approaching the second week of August and City have only signed one player, Elliot Anderson, who is likely to be in the first XI this season.

The fee paid to Nottingham Forest for the England international is a club record £116m, with the 23-year-old seemingly a replacement for Bernardo Silva, who departed at the end of his contract and joined Real Madrid.

Teenage winger Jeremy Monga may be given playing time in the academy after joining from Leicester, while goalkeeper Pierce Charles and winger Mathys Detourbet both immediately went out on loan after joining.

New boss Enzo Maresca said on Tuesday that director of football Hugo Viana and chief executive Ferran Soriano had both travelled to South Korea, where the team are currently spending pre-season, and the Italian admitted “we need to something” in regards to transfers.

Though there is an acknowledgement that they have not been as active as they would have liked, senior City sources say they are “relaxed” about the situation and have full “trust” in their transfer strategy.

It has been pointed out that Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi were long-term targets and were signed in January, deals that were brought forward from this summer and both have made a positive impact.

The squad is seen to be “young” and “exciting”, one which claimed both domestic cups last season, with 20-year-old Brazilian Vitor Reis returning after a season-long loan at Girona and expected to be past of the first-team.

In terms of outgoings, Rodri is yet to sign a new contract and is now attracting attention from both Real Madrid and Barcelona, while fellow midfielder Tijjani Reijnders is likely to leave and has interest from Nottingham Forest.

Meanwhile, BBC Sport said last month winger Savinho is open to leaving the club with Tottenham exploring a move, yet nothing has materialised.

If there are departures from the club, the idea – as it stands – is to bring in a replacement.

There is interest in Chelsea‘s Pedro Neto, while talks are ongoing for Lille’s Moroccan midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi and Marseille goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.

Despite the lack of movement, there remains an air of calmness around the hierarchy at the Etihad.

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I’ve never had that much fun watching a Mets-Guardians game. Plus: We check in on Aaron Judge’s rehab, Britt Ghiroli takes on the “competitive window” and we investigate evidence suggesting the Dodgers are fallible?

I’m Levi Weaver — welcome to The Windup!

Instant Classic: Yan’s celebration, Genao’s history

I could’ve written an entire newsletter about last night’s Mets-Guardians game. The Mets won 6-5, but it was the kind of game that reminds you how baseball can be beautiful and capricious in ways that make the final score almost irrelevant.

By now, you’ve likely seen Mets pitcher Jefry Yan’s strikeout celebration. (Yes, there’s only one ‘F’ and one ‘E’ in his name.) If not, what an honor to be the one to show you:

I love it. Baseball joy is the best.

If you’re a grump who can’t get on board with the celebration, how about the determination? Yan missed five years and was out of the sport, working construction and delivery jobs before his second chance in 2021, when he was signed back into affiliated baseball by the Marlins. Yan spent three years in that organization, then 2024 with the Seibu Lions in Japan and 2025 with the Rockies. He signed with the Mets as a minor-league free agent this past winter.

Five years after his second chance — and after the Mets traded away half their bullpen at the deadline and called up Yan — he’s a big leaguer, nearly two weeks shy of his 30th birthday.

Tim Britton has more on Yan’s journey back to the big leagues. It’s worth the read.

Now we have some history to get to from 22-year-old Guardians rookie Angel Genao, who was the 14th-ranked player in Keith Law’s top 70 prospects before his big-league debut last night. Against the Mets, Genao became the 22nd player ever in MLB (since 1900) to rack up four hits in his debut, including a seventh-inning single to give the Guardians a 5-4 lead.

After an error let the Mets score the tying run in the top of the ninth, Genao had a chance to tie Cecil Travis (Washington Nationals, 1933) for the MLB record of five hits in a debut. But with a runner on second, he flied out to the warning track.

After an error let the Mets score the tying run in the top of the ninth, Genao had a chance to tie Cecil Travis (Washington Nationals, 1933) for the MLB record of five hits in a debut. But with a runner on second, he flied out to the warning track.

Still, one of 22? Special.

Here’s something weird: From April 1990 through May 2010, there was only one four-hit debut, from Derrick Gibson of the 1998 Colorado Rockies (Gibson finished with 14 career hits).

Then in 2010, we got two of them, both by catchers: Wilson Ramos (Twins) and J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays). After that? None until this year, when we got two more, both by shortstops-turned-third basemen (Kevin McGonigle also did it for Detroit on Opening Day).

Anyway, the Mets squeaked by in 10 innings. Wild.

Middle Relief: Stick to trying to win championships

Today, Britt Ghiroli critiques the “competitive window,” and says teams should try to win all the time. Here’s an excerpt:

Remember the 2022 Blue Jays? They were talented, full of potential and supposed to usher in the next long competitive window of Canadian baseball. Instead, the team fired its manager in-season, blew an 8-1 lead in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series and got swept out of the postseason by the Mariners.

Toronto went nine years between playoff wins, from 2016 until last year’s magical run to the World Series, which featured a roster very different from the one three years prior. Still, the 2025 Jays looked poised for sustained success and largely ran back the same group that fell just shy of the ultimate prize this year. The Jays, though, found themselves in last place at this year’s trade deadline, working to balance selling and buying.

That’s the thing about windows. They don’t always cooperate.

Sometimes they never truly open at all, like the White Sox’s last rebuild. Current GM Chris Getz, promoted to the role in 2023, orchestrated his own painful rebuild. Chicago is now somewhat surprisingly atop the AL Central, and Getz told reporters a few days ago: “I don’t take any of this for granted. You can’t assume that you’re going to be in these positions every year.”

And yet, some front offices act as if they can. As if their sophisticated models are the only outcome and not a singular idea of a future that has thousands of potential outcomes. As if this sport isn’t a volatile mix of regression, injuries and educated guesses on human beings and their potential.

On the fourth anniversary of Orioles president Mike Elias telling fans it was “time for liftoff,” he dealt his first No. 1 draft pick, catcher Adley Rutschman, to the Red Sox. Elias, whose team has yet to win a playoff game since he took over in November 2018, emphatically told reporters on a call Monday that the team wasn’t rebuilding.

But the Orioles, who won the AL East in 2023, were viewed by many in the industry as a potential future dynasty three years ago. When they were swept out of the playoffs by the eventual World Series champion Rangers — a team that spent money and aggressively tried to win — Elias said the window was just opening. One manager firing and more than two years of sub-.500 baseball have transpired since.

Liftoff? The rocket is still on the launch pad.

I’m not saying the Orioles, who were 54-58 at the deadline, should have been buyers. The Rutschman trade was a good deal for them, with a lot of future value.

But I’ve yet to see “Future Value Winners” on a fan’s T-shirt or a banner hanging to celebrate the No. 1-ranked minor-league season. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team raise anything at the end of the season for the most wins per dollar or consecutive 85-win seasons that ended in a first-round defeat. Though those are buzzy phrases in the age of efficiency and sustainability and whatever else front offices want fans to believe is the ultimate goal over, you know, actual championships.

For the rest, click here.

Streaks: Should the Dodgers be worried?

Maybe it got a bit obscured in the trade deadline hullabaloo, but the Dodgers are on a six-game losing streak, made up of back-to-back sweeps by the Red Sox and Cubs.

Both the Brewers (71-43) and Braves (69-45) now have better records than the 69-46 Dodgers. The Rays, at 68-46, are only a half-game worse. Are we seeing vulnerability?

Ehh, not yet. Last year’s L.A. squad suffered through a seven-game losing streak and still emerged as the champ. But it is a reminder that the Dodgers are capable of the sort of stretch that would get them eliminated in October.

Fabian Ardaya has more here on what’s been going wrong in Dodgerland, but the two things that stick out to me are:

• Their catching situation. Will Smith has been out of action since June 6. Dalton Rushing has a partially torn UCL, and manager Dave Roberts says there’s a “very small” chance he’ll catch again this year. It’s why they picked up Ben Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia at the deadline.
• An old problem has re-emerged. Remember last year, when the Dodgers tied for ninth-most blown saves in the league, at 25? They went out and got Edwin Díaz, who is back from the IL now, but hasn’t looked like himself. As Fabian points out, since July 1, their 5.07 bullpen ERA entering play last night was tied for seventh-worst in the league.

If you’re rooting for the downfall of the empire, I have bad news: Smith and Blake Treinen are expected back before October. Should Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Shohei Ohtani return to full pitching health, the Dodgers could move Roki Sasaki, Eric Lauer and maybe even All-Star Justin Wrobleski to the bullpen.

Meanwhile, how ‘bout those Cubs? At 66-59, they replenished their decimated pitching corps at the deadline, and now they’ve swept the presumptive World Series favorites.

The Cubs’ team defense is the best in the sport, with their best defender playing at an MVP-level pace: Pete Crow-Armstrong went 3-for-5 with two more home runs yesterday (although so did his stiffest competition). Crow-Armstrong now has 26 round-trippers on the season, and is rocking a .938 OPS.

More trending: 

• ⬆️ Red Sox: After sweeping the Dodgers, they could do the same to the White Sox with a win tonight. The Red Sox (62-51) haven’t lost a series since June 29-July 1 against the Nationals, and are now only a game behind the Yankees.
• ⬇️ Pirates: They’re 3-7 in their last 10 and haven’t won a series since July 18-19 in Cleveland. Pittsburgh (57-59) is now 4 1/2 games (with four teams to jump) out of a wild-card spot. It also released DH Marcell Ozuna.

Cleared: Judge’s good news

Will Aaron Judge return in time for a playoff run? The likelihood has gone up.

He’s still not close, but he’s been cleared to “start running outdoors and doing upper-body resistance exercises,” per Tyler Kepner’s report. For the Yankees, the “when” probably isn’t that important, so long as it’s in time for October. Judge’s last game before hitting the IL (May 31) was a win to put the Yankees at 36-23 on the year.

In the 56 games since, they’re 28-28. 

Kepner’s report also says Cody Bellinger is expected to return before the end of the season. Giancarlo Stanton has also been jogging and taking live batting practice.

Around the league, however, the injury news hasn’t been so positive, particularly for starting pitchers:

Handshakes and High Fives

Atlanta needed another starter at the trade deadline. Don’t tell that to Grant Holmes and the rest of the rotation.

Staying in Atlanta: Evan Drellich tells us what we can learn from the Braves’ annual earnings report.

Most-clicked in our last Windup: Jim Bowden’s trade deadline grades for all 30 teams.

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