Newcastle Close In On Højbjerg Amid Marseille Departure

Newcastle United are moving quickly to plug the gap left by Bruno Guimarães, and the solution has a familiar Premier League face. According to Foot Mercato, the club are close to an agreement with Olympique de Marseille for Pierre-Emile Højbjerg in a deal worth around €15 million, with all parties hoping to wrap things up this week.

Guimarães’ move to Arsenal has ripped out the heart of Newcastle’s midfield. The response from the recruitment team has been swift: target experience, reliability, and a player who knows the pace and demands of English football. Højbjerg, at 31, ticks every box.

For Marseille, the deal is as much about survival as strategy. The club’s hierarchy has been operating with tight financial constraints, and a sale at this price offers crucial breathing space. It is money they need to stabilise the books, even if it means losing one of their most dependable performers.

Højbjerg arrived on the Canebière two years ago and wasted no time imposing himself. He started all 32 of his appearances in his first season, an instant pillar in the middle of the park. The second campaign only underlined his importance: 43 games played, 40 of them from the start, plus eight outings in the Champions League. Coaches trusted him. Team-mates leaned on him.

Those numbers tell the story of a midfielder who doesn’t hide, who takes on minutes, responsibility, and pressure. Marseille built patterns of play around his presence. Now they are preparing to tear that page out of the playbook.

For Newcastle, the attraction is obvious. Højbjerg knows the terrain. His previous spells with Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur shaped him into a hardened Premier League operator, comfortable in the chaos of high-tempo games and unforgiving schedules. Slotting back into England’s top flight would be a return, not a leap into the unknown.

If the deal goes through as expected, Newcastle gain a seasoned organiser to steady a midfield in transition, while Marseille bank a much-needed fee but lose a cornerstone. One club reloads, the other recalculates. The only question now is how quickly Højbjerg can turn a shrewd move on paper into authority on the pitch.