Newcastle United are set to sanction the sale of Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal in a deal worth £75million ($100.95m; €87.48m).
Arsenal started negotiations at a significantly lower fee, while Newcastle wanted a larger figure — but the clubs are set to reach a compromise to allow the 28-year-old to seal his desired move to north London.
Guimaraes’ former club Lyon are entitled to 20 per cent of Newcastle’s profit on the midfielder, and will earn £6-7m from the deal.
The Athletic reported on Tuesday that Arsenal and Newcastle were nearing a full agreement over the transfer of the midfielder, who was in Spain for his club’s pre-season training camp but awaiting permission to undergo a medical with the Premier League champions.
As The Athletic reported, in early July Guimaraes informed Newcastle of his desire to leave the club and move the north London, with Arsenal initially expressing a willingness to pay up to £60million or the Brazil international.
This followed a verbal bid — worth below £60m — from Arsenal which was rebuffed by Newcastle, who had maintained that they would not be entertaining offers for the player.
Guimaraes 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.
Guimaraes’ impending departure will be 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, and Victor Munoz, who opted for a move to Liverpool.
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.
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.
What would Guimaraes bring to Arsenal?
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.
