Bruno Guimaraes has asked to leave Newcastle, with Arsenal accelerating their interest in the midfielder, BBC Sport reports.
The Brazil international, who arrived from Lyon in 2022, has been a player of interest for the Premier League champions this summer.
The Gunners had looked into approaches for either Guimaraes or his former team-mate Sandro Tonali, who has now joined Tottenham for an initial £92.5m, as they look to bolster their midfield.
During discussions aimed at checking the financial conditions of a deal for Guimaraes, it is understood a fee of around £60m was initially intimated with the 28-year-old’s representatives.
Although Newcastle have had no direct contact from Arsenal, Mikel Arteta’s side are now poised to make a fresh offer for Guimaraes, who missed a penalty for Brazil as they exited the World Cup in the last 16 to Norway on Sunday.
As things stand, it is understood Arsenal only want one leading central midfielder, with Bournemouth’s Alex Scott and Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi also being considered.
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Newcastle do not want to lose Guimaraes, the team’s captain and talisman, having already sold Italy international Tonali and Anthony Gordon in this transfer window.
As well as Tonali, there have been major sales of midfielders so far this summer, including Manchester City agreeing a club-record £116m deal with Nottingham Forest for England’s Elliot Anderson and West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes also joining Tottenham for £85m.
With Guimaraes turning 29 in November, the age of the Brazilian is likely to emerge as a key factor in how much Arsenal would be willing to pay.
The arrival of a central midfielder will lead to the sale of a current player in the same position, with Denmark’s Christian Norgaard, 32, someone the club will listen to offers for.
It could also bring into question Martin Zubimendi’s role as a regular starter in Arteta’s starting XI next season.
