Bruno Guimarães set to join Arsenal for £75 million from Newcastle

Bruno Guimarães is preparing to leave Newcastle’s pre-season training camp in southern Spain to travel to London for a £75 million transfer to Arsenal. The outgoing Newcastle captain is expected to undergo a medical in north London in the coming days, following an agreement between the two clubs regarding the transfer fee.

Negotiations and Transfer Details

Initially, Arsenal aimed to spend a maximum of £60 million for the Brazilian midfielder, who will turn 29 in November and has two years left on his contract. On the other hand, Newcastle was demanding a minimum of £80 million.

After selling Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali to Barcelona and Tottenham, respectively, Newcastle had no pressing need to part with Guimarães and would have preferred to keep a key player, essential to their victory in the 2025 League Cup.

Impact of Guimarães’ Departure

Since Guimarães joined from Lyon in January 2022, Newcastle has struggled to win matches without him on the pitch. In his 153 league appearances, he has scored 30 goals and provided 26 assists. Under Eddie Howe’s management, the team has qualified for the Champions League twice, making him a fan favorite. The loss of Guimarães is likely to affect Newcastle supporters more than the departure of Alexander Isak to Liverpool last year.

Despite this, Guimarães was determined to join Arsenal, even before Howe left his managerial position last week. He traveled to La Manga to meet with the new coach, Matthias Jaissle, but made it clear that he wished to leave and could not be persuaded otherwise. The separation was amicable, contrasting sharply with Isak’s tumultuous departure last summer.

Lyon is set to receive around £7 million due to a sell-on clause stipulating that they are entitled to 20% of any profit Newcastle makes from the sale of Guimarães.

Arsenal, having allowed Christian Norgaard’s sale to Everton for £7 million in anticipation of Guimarães’ arrival, is expected to ramp up efforts to recruit a defender and another forward before the transfer window closes. They may face competition from Liverpool in their pursuit of Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa, amid concerns regarding William Saliba’s back issues, which will keep him out for a ‘long period.’ Villa is believed to be asking for £60 million for the English defender, but Arsenal is unwilling to pay that amount for a player with less than two years remaining on his contract.

Arsenal has also expressed interest in signing Vinícius Júnior, Guimarães’ Brazilian teammate, but is considering alternatives in case he decides to stay at Real Madrid. Barcelona’s sporting director, Deco, is set to meet with Atlético Madrid regarding Julián Alvarez on Wednesday, aiming to finalize a deal for the Argentine forward. However, Arsenal hopes that the 26-year-old can still be persuaded to join them. Mikel Arteta’s team has also been linked with Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola, who is coveted by Liverpool and valued at around £145 million by the European champions.