Arsenal and Manchester City are interested in signing Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes. Both British and international media have reported extensively on this and there is a possibility that there could be an interesting bidding war between the two and possibly other teams as well.
Newcastle have their own difficulties and that too may impact the deal and overall outcome for the 26-year-old player. It’s an interesting turn of events as the two title chasers have been down this path before.
Who is Bruno Guimaraes?
Bruno Guimaraes Rodriguez Moura is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Newcastle United and the Brazilian national team.
Guimaraes moved to Premier League club Newcastle United in 2022 on a four-and-a-half year contract for a transfer fee of up to £40 million. He made his debut as a late substitute in the 3-1 win against Everton. On October 7, 2023, Guimarães signed a new five-year contract with the club. This contract contains a clause that allows transfer before the end of the five years. In total he played 81 games for Newcastle and scored 13 goals.
The release clause
Guimaraes has a release clause in his contract, set at around £100m. That means Newcastle can decide to trade him to another club before the end of the contract, but the lowest price another team would have to pay is $100 million.
However, the contract is written in such a way that it leaves room for negotiation of a potentially lower publication fee. This is what the negotiations between the three clubs will revolve around in the coming months. Most assume there is a good chance Newcastle will fall below the set figure.
What does Guimaraes want?
We don’t know much about Guimaraes’ plans at the moment. It has been widely reported that the player and his team are aware of both teams’ offers. Media have also reported that Paris Saint-Germain is interested and some said that Guimaraes could be interested in this offer.
However, Guimaraes has also bought a family home in Northumberland, which many take as a sign that he has no plans to move any time soon. Guimaraes is also reportedly very close to a teammate, Joelinton, who recently signed a contract extension with Newcastle and this could be part of the decision to snub PSG or even Man City.
The rivalry
Both teams are in the race for the title and there is an ongoing rivalry between the two, which this transfer may be part of. There are already sports betting sites, like the ones on this list from Cryptomaniaks, where players can bet on how the transfer will ultimately go. Crypto sports betting sites are available to players around the world and offer live odds that change based on the new reports.
A similar battle took place last year, or the signing of Declan Rice. Arsenal eventually won that race, paying a record transfer fee of £105 million to West Ham United.
However, it is important to note that these are still just rumors and none of the sides we mentioned have formalized their intention to make a deal. If this is the case and agents and attorneys are formally involved, we know we are in the middle of another intense negotiation.
Newcastle United record
Newcastle are seventh in the Premier League after 24 games and have already lost twice as many league games (10) as they did in all of last season (5). They have also conceded six more goals (39) than they conceded in the entire 2022-23 Premier League season (33).
It is important to note that the performance is not Guimaraes’ performance.
In the 2022-23 Premier League, he averaged 53.7 passes per 90 minutes with an accuracy of 84.6%. That has increased this season to 62.5 passes per 90 and an accuracy of 86.6%. His creativity is basically the same, creating 1.38 chances per 90 last season and 1.42 this season, while his tackles per 90 have dropped slightly from 2.6 per 90 to 2.3.
However, it is also important to consider the financial aspects of the deal as Newcastle battle to comply with Premier League profit and sustainability rules.
Profit and sustainability rules
The Premier League updated its profit and sustainability rules in March this year and the changes caused some problems for some teams. The rules specify how much money a team must have on hand at all times to avoid the risk of going bankrupt in the middle of a season.
The rules are as follows:
– Clubs can only lose £15m of their own money over these three years.
-You can lose £35 million a year (averaged over three seasons) through self-investment.
– Any transfer costs can be spread over a maximum of five years
What impact does it have on Newcastle?
The changes to winning and sustainability rules may impact Newcastle and its transfer decisions. The club’s most recent accounts showed a loss of £155 million over the last three seasons. That’s over 50 million more than the permitted amount.
Some claim this means Newcastle will have to strike a deal for Guimaraes with any other teams interested. But others say the regulations are far more complex and investments in the women’s team, charity foundation and academy could be removed from the deficit.
“We are compliant“said Darren Eales, the chief executive. “If we want to get where we want to go, sometimes it’s necessary to trade players.” “It’s a counterintuitive part of the PSR system that there’s an incentive to trade players if you want to reinvest.”
We want to be one of the six most sustainable clubs, but Tottenham’s latest balance sheet shows £440 million [in turnover]. We’re at £250m, so that’s a big step up to the bottom of the top six. Manchester City is at £710m. There’s still a long way to go.”
Other options
If that happens, Newcastle may have to sell some of their players to meet demand. However, it doesn’t necessarily have to be Guimaraes, especially since he has shown his intention to stay there and has often expressed how happy he is with the team.
Other transfer options are Alexander Isak or Sven Botman. There are also rumors that Newcastle could leave St James’ Park to build a new stadium. This could work as Newcastle have been considering expanding the stadium for some time, which is too small for their needs and can only accommodate 52,000 spectators.
Diploma
Both Arsenal and Manchester City are interested in signing Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes. The Brazilian player joined Newcastle in 2022 and has a release clause of around £100 million. Newcastle are reportedly willing to reduce the fee as part of negotiations.
Newcastle’s financial concerns, coupled with the Premier League’s winning rules, could influence their decision. However, Guimaraes has just purchased a new home in the north, which shows he has no plans to move any time soon. Manchester City and Arsenal have been in a similar bidding war since last year.