Arsenal agree £75m fee with Newcastle for Bruno Guimarães as clubs reach compromise
Arsenal have agreed a £75m fee with Newcastle United for Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimarães, ending a tense negotiation between the two clubs. The Newcastle captain is set to leave the club's pre-season training camp in southern Spain to fly to London for a medical, with the move marking a significant blow for Newcastle, who had been reluctant sellers of a player central to their recent success.
Arsenal initially wanted to pay no more than £60m, while Newcastle had demanded at least £80m before the clubs settled on £75m, having rejected an opening £70m bid on Monday. Guimarães, who turns 29 in November and had two years left on his contract, joined from Lyon in January 2022 and made 153 league appearances, scoring 30 goals and providing 26 assists; Lyon will receive roughly £7m from a sell-on clause. Having already sold Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali this summer, Newcastle had no need to sell Guimarães, but he was determined to leave, telling incoming manager Matthias Jaissle as much, in a departure described as cordial unlike Alexander Isak's acrimonious exit last year.
- Arsenal agree £75m deal with Newcastle for Bruno Guimarães.
- Fee compromise after Arsenal's £60m stance, Newcastle's £80m demand.
- Guimarães pushed for the move; exit deemed cordial, unlike Isak's.
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Arsenal have agreed a £75m deal with Newcastle United to sign Bruno Guimarães, a Brazil international midfielder who has been the Magpies' captain and one of their most important players since joining from French club Lyon in January 2022. He has made over 150 appearances for Newcastle, contributing goals and assists from midfield, and still had two years left on his contract.
The transfer matters because Newcastle had not wanted to sell him and had already lost other key players this summer, so losing their captain too represents a significant setback for a club that has enjoyed a run of recent success, including qualifying for the Champions League. Arsenal, by contrast, have been looking to strengthen their midfield ahead of the new season.
The fee itself was the subject of prolonged haggling between the two Premier League clubs, with Arsenal initially reluctant to pay as much as Newcastle wanted, before they settled on a figure in between. Such disputes over transfer fees between English clubs are common and can take days or weeks to resolve before a deal is finalised and a medical arranged.