Arsenal agree fee for Guimaraes

Arsenal reach deal for Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes; Guimaraes has two years remaining on his contract at St James' Park; the Gunners have now agreed a £75m fee for the Brazilian, who has been given permission to travel for a medical

>Arsenal have agreed a £75m fee with Newcastle for their captain Bruno Guimaraes.

>He has been given permission to travel for a medical.

>Guimaraes told Newcastle bosses earlier this summer that he wanted to join Arsenal if a suitable offer arrived.

>Arsenal's opening bid was rejected but the 28-year-old now looks set to join the Premier League champions.

>Guimaraes, who joined the Magpies in 2022 from Lyon for £40m, has made 195 appearances for Newcastle, scoring 31 goals.

>Newcastle had been keen to ensure Guimaraes, who has two years left on his contract plus a club-held option for a third, cut if this deal goes through as expected, Newcastle will have made more than £240m from player sales this summer.

>Anthony Gordon joined Barcelona in a £69.3m deal, while Spurs signed Sandro Tonali for £100m.

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>Sky Sports News understands Arsenal elongated the Guimaraes deal by refusing to contact Newcastle for weeks, which they found bizarre.

>Agents were in between the clubs from the outset but Newcastle refused all pushes, which began with mentions of £40-£45m in June.

>Newcastle didn't want to sell, and were desperate to keep Guimaraes. If their captain had said he wanted to stay, the club would have refused any offer from Arsenal or any other club. However, he has been very respectfully clear that he definitely wanted to go and this was his last big opportunity to win titles.

>Attempts to persuade him otherwise and positive conversations were held, but Guimaraes was insistent he wanted to leave.

>The deal could only happen if he said he wanted to leave and Newcastle would only deal at a fee which would become one of the highest ever paid in the world for a player over 28 years old.

>Arsenal, via agents, continually said they wouldn't get anywhere near to such numbers so Newcastle continued to refuse to sell. Newcastle insisted it was their valuation, or no deal - and only if Bruno said he wanted to go. The player would only go on Newcastle's terms, similar to Tonali and Gordon.

>In addition, a deal would only be sanctioned if the transfer was handled respectfully; for example, after he attended training camp in Spain, Newcastle feel Bruno has complied with this immaculately. They did not want a repeat of the Alexander Isak situation where he refused to train. Newcastle insisted there have been no fallouts and great respect remains between player and club.

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>"Myles Lewis-Skelly was playing incredibly well at the end of last season and started the Champions League final. Martin Zubimendi is a World Cup winner and after some rest he will be ready to go. There's Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze in the No 10 position alongside the two potential starters in Declan Rice and Guimaraes.

>"It's a world class midfield and if Arsenal weren't favourites for the title already, they are now.

>"If they can add a left winger and some star quality in that position, which looks like the last piece of the puzzle, it looks like bad news for the rest of the Premier League.

>"A few weeks ago, you'd have said this a fair fee but with the last few weeks we've had in the transfer window with some really high fees for midfielders, anything under £100m looks good value.

>"Guimaraes is a little older but this is Arsenal's strategy, they want to win now. They have signed some younger players but last summer's deal to sign Viktor Gyokeres was to win now.

>"Guimaraes won't need any time to settle in. He is one of the most consistent Premier League midfielders.

>"Arsenal won't make money on him but he might get them closer to the Champions League and he might help them retain the Premier League. The Gunners aren't looking to the future, they want to win now."

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>It is easy to understand Arsenal's interest in Guimaraes.

>The Newcastle captain is one of the Premier League's most complete midfielders, capable of dominating and destroying but also scoring and creating, with passing ability to match his physicality.

>If the Gunners do secure his signature, he would be joining a group of midfielders which includes Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly. So where and how would he fit in?

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