Arsenal and Manchester City are interested in signing Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes. Both the British and international media have widely reported this, as well as the possibility that an interesting bidding war may arise between the two and possibly between other parties.
Newcastle have their difficulties, and that, too, could affect the deal and the overall outcome of the 26-year-old. It's an interesting turn of events as these two title chasers have been down this road 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 Brazil national team.
Guimaraes joined Premier League club Newcastle United in 2022 on a four-and-a-half-year deal for a reported fee of up to £40m. He made his debut as a late substitute in a 3–1 win against Everton. On 7 October 2023, Guimarães signed a new five-year contract with the club. The contract has a clause that allows the transfer of money before the end of five years. He played 81 games for Newcastle in total and scored 13 goals.
Exemption Clause
Guimaraes has a £100 million release clause in his contract. This means that Newcastle can decide to let him go to another team before the end of the contract, but the minimum price that the other team has to pay is $100 million.
However, the contract is written to leave room for negotiation regarding the release fee which may be lower. That is what the talks between the three clubs will be about in the coming months. Most say there is a good chance Newcastle will drop the set price.
What does Guimaraes want?
We don't know much about Guimaraes' plans yet. It was heard that the player and his team are aware of the promises from both teams. The media also reported that Paris Saint-Germain are interested, and some say that Guimaraes may be interested in the offer.
However, Guimaraes has also bought a family home in Northumberland, which many see as a sign that he is not planning to move anytime soon. Guimaraes is reported to be very close to his teammate, Joelinton, who recently signed his contract with Newcastle, and may be part of the decision to leave PSG or Man City.
Rivalry
Both of these teams are in contention for the title, and there is an ongoing rivalry between the two, which this transfer may be a part of. There are already sports betting sites, like the ones on this Cryptomaniaks list, that allow players to bet on how the transfer will go in the end. Crypto sports betting sites are available to players from all over the world and have odds that change based on new reports.
A similar battle happened last year, or the signature of Declan Rice. Arsenal eventually won that race and paid a record fee of £105 million to West Ham United.
It is important to note however that we are still only dealing with rumors and none of the parties we mentioned have officially made their intention to make a deal. If they do and when agents and lawyers get legally involved, we'll know we're in for some serious negotiations.
Newcastle United record
Newcastle are in seventh place in the Premier League after 24 games and have already lost twice in the league (10) as they did in the whole of last season (5). They also scored six more goals (39) than in their entire 2022-23 Premier League campaign (33).
It is important to note that the performance is not the performance of Guimaraes.
In the Premier League in 2022-23, he averaged 53.7 passes per 90 minutes with 84.6% accuracy. That increased to 62.5 90 passes and 86.6% accuracy this season. His efficiency is exactly the same, creating 1.38 chances per 90 last season and 1.42 this season, while his strikeout per 90 has 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 strive to stay in line with the Premier League's rules for profitability and sustainability.
Laws of Profit and Sustainability
The Premier League revised its rules on profit and sustainability in March this year, and the changes caused problems for some clubs. The rules specify how much money a team must have at all times to avoid the risk of bankruptcy mid-season.
The rules are as follows:
– Clubs can only lose £15m of their money over those three years.
-They could lose £35m/year on owner investment (over three seasons).
– Any transfer costs can be spread over a period of five years
How does it affect Newcastle?
Changes to profit and sustainability rules could affect Newcastle and their transfer decisions. The club's latest accounts revealed a loss of £155m over the past three seasons. That is more than 50 million more than the allowed amount.
Some say this means Newcastle will have to strike a deal with Guimaraes and any other interested parties. Others, however, say the regulations are more complicated than that, and investments in a women's group, a charity foundation, and a school can be exempt from this liability.
“We comply,” said Darren Eales, chief executive. ““If we're going to get where we want to go, sometimes, you have to trade your players,” “It's the opposite of the PSR system that there's an incentive to trade players if you want to reinvest.”
We want to be a sustainable top-six club, but Tottenham's latest accounts show £440m [in turnover]. We're on £250m, so it's a big step even to the bottom end of the top six. Manchester City are at £710m. There is still a long way to go.”
Other Options
When it comes down to it, Newcastle may need to sell some of their players to meet the demand. However, it should not be Guimaraes, especially since it has shown us that it is determined to stay there and has often expressed that it is happy with the team.
Other transfer options include Alexander Isak or Sven Botman. There are rumors that Newcastle could leave St James' Park for a new stadium. This may be successful because, for some time, Newcastle has been looking at expanding the stadium, which is too small for its needs, accommodating only 52,000 people.
The conclusion
Both Arsenal and Manchester City are showing interest in signing Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes. The Brazilian joins Newcastle in 2022 and boasts a release clause of around £100 million. Reports suggest that Newcastle are willing to lower the fee as part of the negotiations.
Newcastle's financial concerns, combined with the Premier League's profit rules, may have influenced their decision. However, Guimaraes recently bought a new house in the North, which shows that he does not plan to move anytime soon. Manchester City and Arsenal have been in the same bidding war since last year.
