Arsenal & Man City learn of lower Bruno Guimaraes price tag despite release clause

Arsenal and Manchester City are aware that Newcastle United will listen to offers in excess of £80m for Bruno Guimaraes this summer, sources have told 90min.

Posted Friday, April 26, 2024 by 90min.com

Both the Gunners and the Cityzens are in the market for a midfielder heading into the 2024/25 season, and 90min reported last week that Guimaraes is an option for them.

Though there is a £100m release clause in Guimaraes' contract, 90min revealed there is a verbal agreement between club and player to listen to offers over £80m from clubs competing in the Champions League.

90min now understands both Arsenal and City have learned of this lower valuation of Guimaraes, though they are not the only teams interested in his services.

Paris Saint-Germain are also admirers of the Brazil international. There have been doubts over whether PSG's Qatari owners could negotiate with Newcastle's Saudi Arabian club chiefs, but it's understood this wouldn't prevent a deal being thrashed out.

For example, PSG accepted a world-record offer from Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal for Kylian Mbappe last summer, but the forward resisted a move away from Parc des Princes. PSG did manage to sell Neymar to Al Hilal without such issue.

Guimaraes and Silva are on PSG's radar

And if Newcastle refused to play ball with Guimaraes, PSG could go over their heads and trigger his release clause anyway - they are one of the few clubs that can afford to do so this summer. PSG are also looking at City's Bernardo Silva as another midfield option.

Newcastle are in need of raising £35m-50m through player sales in order to ease concerns over breaching the Premier League's Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR), and they would prefer to sell one player for a higher fee rather than several players for smaller sums.

They have prioritised keeping star striker Alexander Isak, who is also of interest to Arsenal, meaning Guimaraes is more likely to be sold, while England international Callum Wilson could also be shifted.

Guimaraes has made 101 appearances for Newcastle since his 2022 move from Lyon and further established himself in Brazil's national teams setup, cementing his status as one of the Premier League’s best and most tactically flexible midfielders. Naturally, the Magpies would love to keep Guimaraes and he is settled in the North East so won't necessarily force an exit this summer, but he may not have to given Newcastle's need to raise funds.