Arsenal and Newcastle United are nearing a total agreement for the transfer of midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.
The Athletic reported on July 8 that Guimaraes had informed Newcastle of his desire to leave the club and join Arsenal, who initially expressed a willingness to pay up to £60million (€70m, $80.2m) for him.
This came after Arsenal had a verbal offer — worth below £60m — rebuffed by Newcastle, who had maintained that they would not be entertaining offers for the midfielder.
There is now, however, a desire among all parties to bring the situation to a close and a deal is on course for completion. Guimaraes is awaiting permission to undergo a medical and seal a move to north London.
Guimaraes is currently in Spain with his Newcastle team-mates at the squad’s pre-season training camp in La Manga.
The 28-year-old has two years left on his Newcastle contract, having signed a five-year deal in October 2023. That contract had a temporary £100m release clause inserted, but it expired in June 2024 without being exercised.
The midfielder’s departure would represent the latest high-profile exit from Newcastle this summer. Eddie Howe has departed his role as head coach, with Matthias Jaissle of Al Ahli set to replace him.
Newcastle sold winger Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for €80m and midfielder Sandro Tonali to Tottenham Hotspur in a deal worth £100m. They missed out on Freiburg’s Johan Manzambi, who instead joined Aston Villa.
Newcastle have brought in 18-year-old midfielder Sean Steur from Ajax in a deal worth in the region of €25m, and 20-year-old midfielder Aladji Bamba from Monaco in a deal worth up to €40m.
Newcastle also had a bid of around £46m rejected by Tottenham for midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who is also being pursued by Nottingham Forest.
Guimaraes joined Newcastle from Lyon in January 2022 in a deal worth €50m including add-ons. He has made 153 Premier League appearances for the club, scoring 30 times and recording 26 assists, and was also part of the team that won the Carabao Cup in 2025.
The midfielder featured 41 times in all competitions last season, providing nine goals and eight assists.
Guimaraes started all five of Brazil’s games at the 2026 World Cup, providing four assists.
Analysis from Art de Roche and Mark Carey
Guimaraes’ spatial awareness and ability to keep possession are integral to his playing style, and were critical to his four assists at the tournament.
Leadership can often be solely viewed through the lens of being vocal, which he is as Newcastle’s current captain, but it manifests itself in other aspects, too. Technical leaders, who take responsibility for setting the tempo in possession and moving the team forward, can be just as important, and Guimaraes fulfils this duty for Newcastle, too.
No player in Howe’s side made more line-breaking passes per 90 minutes in the Premier League last season (16.2), with the rest of their top five made up of defenders, who tend to have more space on the pitch to pass into. By comparison, Tonali ranked 10th among the squad with 10.9 such passes per 90.
Guimaraes’ bravery on the ball in tight areas can be visualised above, as 12 passes made under high pressure per 90 ranks highly among his peers throughout the European game last season.